Tokyo Olympic gold medallist and former WWE wrestler Gable Steveson has made the switch to American football as he joins the Buffalo Bills; he became the youngest freestyle wrestler to win Olympic gold as a super heavyweight; watch the 2024-25 NFL season on Sky Sports
Friday 31 May 2024 21:55, UK
Olympic champion and former WWE wrestler Gable Steveson has joined the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent defensive tackle.
Steveson won gold in men's freestyle super heavyweight wrestling at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 when he scored on a spin-behind takedown with 10 seconds remaining and then another as time expired to win by one point.
The 24-year-old, a two-time heavyweight National Collegiate Athletic Association champion at the University of Minnesota, also wrestled professionally in WWE from 2021 before his release earlier this year.
He has signed a standard three-year rookie contract with the Bills, who won the AFC East Division title in the 2023 season and went on to lose to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs.
"I have been fortunate to compete at the highest level of competition in my sport but am looking forward to the challenge of seeing how my wrestling skills may translate to football," Steveson told ESPN.
"I am grateful to coach (Sean) McDermott, (general manager) Brandon Beane and the Buffalo Bills organisation for giving me this opportunity."
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