Triumph and tears intertwined for Kyle Dake at the US wrestling Olympic qualifiers at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pennsylvania. From that arena, Dake secured his spot for the Paris Olympics 2024, defeating Jason Nolf in both matches of the men’s freestyle 74kg category. But his second Olympic berth came just nine days after his father, Dough Dake, passed away.

Amidst the cheers and celebrations, the X handle of Penn State wrestling posted a clip of Kyle Dake’s emotional moment after the win. He responded to reporters with a somber expression, reflecting on the weight of his recent loss, “It’s pretty hard for me right now, as my dad passed away last week, just, it’s really hard, this is the first time that I had to do without him.” The flowing emotions did not stop there.

Kyle wanted his father Doug to be there and watch his match, see him win for Paris 2024 as he stated, “I wish he was here, you know I wanted to do him proud and it’s hard to find the words to say how much he means to me”. That emotional dependence and bonding of Kyle Dake with his father became evident when he said, “He was the reason I got into wrestling. I just really miss him.” It seemed as if Kyle channelized all his emotions into the bouts he had to face in the qualifiers and that the outcome was visible.

Kyle Dake swept Jason Nolf in two matches in the 74kg freestyle best-of-three championship series in the U.S. Olympics Team Trials. A bronze medalist from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Dake had once again set his sights on Olympic success, aiming to secure another medal in the Paris Olympics with a 3-1 win in the second match on Saturday night. That followed a 4-1 victory over Nolf earlier in the day. His dominance was evident as he triumphed in all eight matches against Nolf in the freestyle category. With this performance, Dake’s dad indeed would have been proud of him. Although difficult, let us try to gauge the depth of the bond the father-son duo shared.

Dough Dake was an all-weather companion for Kyle Dake

Dough Dake himself was a wrestler and later became the coach. Just a few days before his win, Kyle shared his journey with his dad, a video on Instagram that shows exactly how his dad was. He penned down in a poignant tone, “This is the last time my dad and I got in our stance and wrestled.” Dough Dake was a wrestling coach at Lansing High School and a former assistant coach at Cornell University. He was honored with induction into the Kent State Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999 for his outstanding wrestling career at the university in Ohio.

Dough was always there for Dake whenever he wanted him, “From a snowed in driveway to a broken down car to a cracked sewer line. It didn’t matter, he was there.” His dad was his greatest teacher and mentor. His dad is the sole reason for him becoming an able man today. In a fitting tribute to his father, Kyle is on the Olympic way once again. Sitting in his heavenly abode, Dough is surely yearning to watch his able son standing atop the podium in the Parisian arena.

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