Everyone’s excited about Penn State wrestlers in the Olympics, especially Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.

Ahead of former Penn State wrestling star Zain Rethorford’s Olympic debut, Shapiro posted a video featuring Retherford’s parents talking about his journey through wrestling to the Olympics.

Retherford grew up in Benton, Pennsylvania, a small town about an hour and a half east of Penn State. He started wrestling at an early age and by age 8, Retherford told his parents that he wanted to be an Olympian. In Shapiro’s video, Retherford’s father, Allen, said that possibility was always in the back of his mind.

“It stuck in my mind that far back,” Allen Retherford said. “And I’m like, ‘You know this kid? He can do this.”

Zain Retherford will compete in his first Olympics seven years after his Penn State career, during which he claimed three national championships and two Hodge Trophies.

Folks interested in watching Retherford can check out his first match when the 65-kilogram freestyle kicks off at 5 p.m. on August 10. To see a full list of Penn Staters competing in the game, go here.

About the Author

Joe Lister

Joe, shockingly, was Onward State's managing editor from 2024-25. It was an honor. He's off employed doing journalism things, hopefully. If you want to complain about anything he's ever written, you can find him on Twitter (iamjoelister), email ([email protected]), or Signal (iamjoelister.93).

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