Kyle Dake falls to Japan's Daichi Takatani in Semifinals of 74 KG freestyle wrestling, will compete for bronze

Team USA’s Kyle Dake suffered a bit of disappointment on Friday during his chase for gold at 74 KG in freestyle wrestling at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The former Cornell standout, four-time NCAA champion and Nittany Lion Wrestling Club rep went for broke this time around, after securing a bronze medal in 2020. However, it wasn’t meant to be, as Dake was defeated by Japan’s Daichi Takatani.

The score ended up being 20-12 in favor of Takatani. Now, Dake will hope to secure bronze for the second straight Olympics, an impressive feat nonetheless, but he wanted more.

With Takatani in the lead late, Dake tried to make a bit of a comeback, but the Japanese wrestler got to his ankle lace twice, which ballooned his lead to 15-10. The duo then traded exposure points near the end, but Dake’s attempts at advancing were thwarted with 4.2 seconds left.

After officials scored the bout 19-12 in favor of Takatani, the USA challenged, but it was denied, and the final score ended up being 20-12. Now, Dake will look to go for bronze, the same fate he ended with in Tokyo during the last iteration of the Summer Olympics.

More on Kyle Dake, 2024 Paris Summer Olympics

Coming into the Olympics, Kyle Dake sported a freestyle record of 134-19. A four-time World Champion and five-time medalist, Dake broke through on the Olympic stage in Tokyo.

Following a loss in the second round, Dake rallied to win a Bronze Medal. He came into the 2024 Olympic Games as the favorite to win a Gold Medal.

Dake won four NCAA titles at four different weights when he wrestled for Cornell. He did so at four different weight classes. Dake is regarded as one of the greatest college wrestlers of all time and his senior level success certainly puts him high on the list of the last 20-plus years.

“The biggest thing for me is how can I compete with gratitude, be thankful for the opportunity,” Dake said, via the Ithaca Journal. “How can I compete with courage? Don’t be wrestling with fear. And how can I go score points? Not freezing when you get out there. If I can have fun, that wraps everything in a nice bow.”

Following the passing of his father, Dake wrestled in honor of him to clinch his spot on the Olympic team once again.

“It’s been a lot, a really long road,” Dake said during the Olympic Trials. “My dad got really sick at the beginning of the year and he passed away last week. He was the reason I got into wrestling. I just really miss him.”

But his family was in attendance after missing the Tokyo Olympics due to restrictions.

“I think the thing I’m most excited about is my family being there,” Dake said. “I’m just really close with everyone in my family. Tokyo was hard because I just couldn’t share it with them.”

On3’s Steve Samra contributed to this article.