Jesse David Thielke (born June 9, 1992) is an American

Greco-Roman wrestler Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), or classic wrestling (Euro-English) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been i ...

who competed at the

2016 Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

High school career

In high school Thielke was a four-time state champion for Germantown High School in

Germantown, Wisconsin Germantown is a village in Washington County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 20,917 at the 2020 census. The village surrounds the Town of Germantown, and is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. History The land that became ...

. He finished with a record of 186-1, including a victory over eventual

Dan Hodge Trophy The Dan Hodge Trophy is awarded each year to the United States of America’s best college wrestler. The trophy is presented at the end of the season by '' WIN'' magazine and Culture House. It is the collegiate wrestling equivalent to the Heisman ...

winner

Alex Dieringer Alex David Dieringer (born June 6, 1993) is an American Freestyle wrestling, freestyle wrestler and graduated Collegiate wrestling, folkstyle wrestler. In freestyle, he has had success in both the international and national circuit, claiming med ...

College career

He wrestled two seasons for the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the College athletics in the United States, athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I ...

before taking an Olympic

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

in the 2015–16 season.

International career

He won the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, defeating

Spenser Mango Spenser Mango (born July 6, 1986) is an American Greco-Roman wrestler. He has represented the United States in numerous international competitions including the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, he competed in the 55 kg w ...

in the semifinals and

Ildar Hafizov Ildar Shavkatovich Hafizov (; ; born January 30, 1988) is an Uzbekistani-American Greco-Roman wrestler of Tatar heritage, who competes in the featherweight category (60 kg). 2011 Asian and 2021 Pan American Championships runner-up, 2023 ...

in the finals. Thielke qualified for the 2016 Olympics by finishing second and in the last qualifying spot at the

2016 World Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament 2 The 2016 World Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament 2 was the second of two worldwide qualification tournaments for the 2016 Olympics. Competitors at this tournament failed to qualify for the Olympics at the 2015 World Wrestling Championship ...

. To qualify he came from behind in the quarterfinals and semifinals. At the

, Theilke defeated

Mehdi Messaoudi Mehdi Messaoudi (; born 8 March 1989) is a French-Moroccan former professional footballer who played as a defender. His first name is often misspelled as Medhi. Career Messaoudi was born in Nice, France. He joined AS Saint-Étienne in 2004. A ...

of Morocco in the Round of 16, defeating Messaoudi 8-0. Thielke would then face

Rovshan Bayramov Rovshan Bayramov (; born 7 May 1987, Baku, Azerbaijani SSR) is an Azerbaijani wrestler. He is a European and world champion in Greco-Roman wrestling. Moreover, he is a two-time Olympic silver medalist. In the 2011 World Wrestling Championshi ...

, losing 8-0 to the former world champion and two-time Olympic silver medalist.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thielke, Jesse American male sport wrestlers Living people 1992 births Wrestlers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic wrestlers for the United States People from Germantown, Wisconsin Sportspeople from Washington County, Wisconsin 21st-century American sportsmen