Thomas Gilman American freestyle wrestler Date of Birth: 28.05.1994 Country: USA

1. Thomas Gilman
2. Early Life and High School
3. College
4. 2019–2020
5. 2021
6. Wrestling Style

Thomas Gilman

Thomas Patrick Gilman (born October 28, 1994) is an American freestyle wrestler and folkstyle collegiate wrestler who competes at 57 kg. In freestyle, Gilman is a 2020 Olympic bronze medalist, 2017 World Championship silver medalist, 2018 Pan American Championship silver medalist, 2019 US National runner-up, and three-time US Olympic & World Team member. In folkstyle, Gilman was a three-time NCAA Division I All-American, the 2016 NCAA runner-up, and a Big Ten Conference champion for the University of Iowa.

Early Life and High School

Born and raised in Council Bluffs, Iowa to Patrick and Cheri Gilman, Thomas moved to Nebraska to attend Skutt Catholic High School in Omaha. As a high school wrestler, Gilman became the twentieth four-time Nebraska State Athletic Association (NSAA) state champion in history and helped lead his team to three state titles. He also won the 2009 NHSCA national title at 103 pounds as a freshman. As a senior (2011–12), Gilman committed to the University of Iowa's wrestling program under head coach Tom Brands, becoming the top recruit from the state of Nebraska.

College

During his redshirt year (2012–13), Gilman compiled a 23–5 record (14 via bonus points), won two open tournament titles, and finished the season on a seven-match win streak. In his true freshman season (2013–14), he went 16–3, including a 7–2 dual record and a Midlands Championship title, where he recorded victories over reigning NCAA champion Jesse Delgado and three-time ACC champion Jarrod Garnett. However, he did not start at 125 pounds for the postseason NCAA and B1G tournaments after losing a wrestle-off to teammate Cory Clark.

As a redshirt sophomore (2014–15), he compiled a 31–6 record, a 15–2 dual record, a perfect 9–0 Big Ten dual record, and a second-place finish at the Midlands. Following the season, he placed second at the Big Ten Championships to Buckeye Nathan Tomasello and became an All-American, placing fourth at the NCAA Championships.

As a junior (2015–16), Gilman continued to improve his W/L ratio with a 28–2 record, going a perfect 17–0 in dual competition. His first loss came in the semi-finals of the Big Ten Championships, handed to him by two-time NCAA runner-up Nico Megaludis of Penn State, and he would come back to place third in the tournament. At the NCAA Championships, he mostly cruised into the finals with two majors, one technical fall, and a pin over defending NCAA champion Nathan Tomasello, avenging his loss from the previous season. In the finals, Gilman was again defeated by PSU's Nico Megaludis, finishing as the NCAA runner-up.

In his senior year (2016–17), Gilman compiled a 32–1 record with a 15–0 dual record. He led the Hawkeyes in falls and technical falls, recorded bonus points in 26 of his 32 wins, and won the Midlands Championships while also being named the Outstanding Wrestler. After being ranked number one at 125 pounds in the nation for the entire season, Gilman claimed his first Big Ten title, defeating Nebraska's Timothy Lambert in the finals. As the top seed at the NCAA's, Gilman dominated with two majors and a fall over rival Nick Piccininni to advance to the semifinals, but he suffered a loss to eventual champion Darian Cruz, being knocked to the consolation side of the tournament bracket. He bounced back with a win over second-seeded Joey Dance and a rematch victory over Nick Piccininni, now 13–6, to claim third place. Gilman finished his Hawkeye career with a 107–12 overall record.

2019–2020

Gilman began the year competing overseas, earning a bronze medal at the Ivan Yarygin Golden Grand Prix and placing 15th at the Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov Tournament. After returning to the US, Gilman placed second at the US Open, losing in the finals to Daton Fix but not before defeating returning NCAA champion Nathan Tomasello. In May, he competed at the US World Team Trials Challenge Tournament, twice defeating Darian Cruz and qualifying for the Final X match. At the June Final X, Gilman lost to Fix 2–1, missing out on the chance to represent the United States at the World Championships. Gilman then traveled to Russia to train in Vladikavkaz and was named USA Wrestling's Athlete of the Week after capturing the Yusup Abdusalamov Memorial. He also competed at the Intercontinental Cup and Alans International, placing third and twelfth, respectively, before returning to the United States.

Gilman opened 2020 with a prestigious Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series title, defeating Daton Fix in the semifinals and 2019 World Championship medalist (61 kg) Joe Colon in the semifinals and finals, respectively. Gilman then continued his hot-streak two months later and clinched a weight for the United States to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics, after winning a gold medal at the Pan American Olympic Qualification Tournament, notably defeating two-time U23 World Champion Reineri Andreu of Cuba in the semi-finals. Gilman was then set to compete at the 2020 US Olympic Team Trials in April, however, the event was postponed, as with the entire 2020 Summer Olympics, due to the COVID-19 outbreak. [46] On April 10, Gilman announced his transfer from his long-time training club, the Hawkeye Wrestling Club, to the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club in State College, Pennsylvania. After not being able to compete for several months due to the pandemic, Gilman returned to competition at his now-home NLWC for their first event in September, where he competed with NCAA champion Darian Cruz. [48] In their third event in November, Gilman pinned Frank Perrelli, a 2017 Ukrainian Open runner-up, and afterwards called out Spencer Lee. In his final event of the year, Gilman failed to keep his undefeated streak alive and was defeated by 2019 Bill Farrell Memorial champion Seth Gross by criteria in December.

2021

To open the year, Gilman competed at the Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane in January, where after defeating three-time European champion Georgi Edisherashvili and 2020 US Champion Vito Arujau in his first two matches, he lost to Islam Bazarganov by criteria but was able to defeat Edisherashvili in the third-place match to claim bronze. In February, he competed at NLWC's fifth event and was upset by Zack Sanders before defeating Sean Russell. On April 2–3, the top-seeded Gilman competed at the rescheduled 2020 US Olympic Team Trials, seeking to represent the United States at the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics. To qualify for the best-of-three finals, he defeated two-time All-American Zain Retherford and returning World medalist Joe Colon, finishing both by technical fall. Gilman then wrestled 2020 US Open champion Vito Arujau (21–2 since the pandemic; defeated Daton Fix in the semifinals), taking him down in the first match and then beating him by criteria in the second match. The result qualified Gilman to represent the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics, scheduled to take place from August 4–5. He was also expected to compete at the Pan American Continental Championships but was forced to withdraw due to a foot injury and was replaced by Arujau.

On August 4, Gilman began the day one competition in the men's 57 kg weight class at the rescheduled 2020 Summer Olympics, where he went 1–1, losing to eventual Olympic champion and two-time reigning World Champion Zaur Uguev representing the Russian Olympic Committee. As the Russian continued to advance in the bracket, Gilman was pulled into the repechage to compete on August 5, where he dominated Gulomjon Abdullaev of Uzbekistan and 1919 Asian champion Reza Atri of Iran in order to capture a bronze medal for the United States.

Wrestling Style

Gilman typically looks to be as physical as possible, controlling the center and using his power to drive and push his opponent, wearing them down with his heavy top game until a takedown opportunity appears. Because of his aggressive nature, Gilman is considered to wrestle in the traditional Iowa style and is often described as a "scrapper" and "brawler".