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Kyle Dake knows he’s old.
The 33-year-old Olympian is going to Paris this summer as the oldest wrestler on team USA. But while many other wrestlers his age have since hung up their singlets and moved into coaching positions, Dake still has his sights set on taking home a gold medal.
That’s because the father of three, whose impressive career includes multiple world championships, a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics and four NCAA titles, isn’t ready to rest on his laurels.
“There were plenty of opportunities for me to move on from wrestling,” Dake recently told CNBC Make It. “Job opportunities where I’d be making a lot more money and living a more secure life. But that wasn’t something I wanted to do. I wanted to make it work and be able to compete and wrestle at the highest level.”
He described a difficult decision he faced when he was offered a “massive” university head coaching position. Ultimately, he turned down the job — and the financial security that would come with it — after asking himself one question.
“What is it going to cost for me to give up my dreams of becoming an Olympic gold medalist?” he said. “We couldn’t put a number on it.”
“I don’t wrestle for income, I don’t wrestle because it’s easy,” Dake added. “I wrestle because it’s something that I want to do.”
To hear him tell it, sticking with wrestling into his 30s gives him certain advantages over his younger opponents. When he was in college, he was focused entirely on the outcome of each match. Now, he focuses on his attitude and competing “with courage.”
I don’t wrestle for income, I don’t wrestle because it’s easy. I wrestle because it’s something that I want to do.
As he’s aged, Dake has also learned through trial and error what it takes to get his body ready to perform at the highest level.
“I take care of my body better than probably anybody in the sport,” he said. “I think I’m probably one of the healthiest guys out there because I take it very seriously.”
While he is firmly focused on winning gold on Aug. 10, Dake is at peace with his decision to keep doggedly pursuing his goal whether or not he ends up on the podium.
“I couldn’t look back on my career and think ‘I took the money,'” Dake added. “I want to look back and think ‘I gave it everything I had to try to do this.'”
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