BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Darian Cruz is wrestling with the future.
“You know, there’s bigger things in life than the Olympic Games,” the Allentown native and champion wrestler said recently after falling just short of winning a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.
“My daughter, Carter, is 3 years old. And some day, she’s going to go on her first date; I mean, I don’t even want to think about that yet, right? And she’s going to have her heart broken at some point.
“And my (4-month-old) son (Toi) is going to face adversity some day. That’ll be hard for me. I will teach them to handle life with dignity.”
One’s priorities can become clouded when a lifelong dream stalls just before the finish line.
Not Cruz’s.
“My number one priority is being the best father to my babies and my wife that I can be. And how I can be a role model for other kids in the Lehigh Valley who grew up with dreams like mine."Darian Cruz, Lehigh Valley native and Olympic wrestler
What’s most important to the Bethlehem Catholic two-time PIAA champion and Lehigh University NCAA champion is not the elusive medal he had hoped would hang about his neck, but the loving family and supportive community that warms his heart.
“My number one priority is being the best father to my babies and my wife that I can be,” he said.
“And how can I be a role model for other kids in the Lehigh Valley who grew up with dreams like mine.”
Olympic dreams
Days had passed since Cruz’s 2024 Olympic medal dream closed its eyes in a 13-5 defeat at the hands of his opponent from India. When victory usually jingles in one’s hip pocket like so many nickels and dimes, the sting of losing lingers.
A victory by pin in Cruz’s opening match was followed by a superior decision loss to an eventual gold medalist. Then a final defeat, and bronze left the arena.
Cruz wore a red Olympics T-shirt with Puerto Rico emblazoned across the back, proudly saluting the native land of his grandparents that he chose to represent.
Cruz was pensive discussing his Olympics experience, somehow sliding aside the disappointment to focus on the overall moment.
“It was unbelievable!” Cruz said. “I walked into the arena for the first time on competition day and it was electric. I was so excited at that point. But I did a good job of remaining calm and being prepared.
“But I could feel it, standing there being on the world’s biggest stage.”
Cruz was alone on the wrestling mat. But he was far from alone. Some 50 members of his family, former Lehigh University wrestling teammates and friends were cheering his every move from the stands at Champs-de-Mars Arena.
“I had so much support,” said Cruz, 29. “It started from the moment we left. We were in Newark Airport and people were taking pictures of us and wishing us well. It was ecstatic to have that many people who didn’t even know me supporting me.
“It was an incredible overall experience.”
But was it his final one?
Unfinished business
The Olympics bronze medal loss is in Cruz’s rearview mirror.
But, clearly, it is not out of sight. It occasionally creeps up, tapping his rear bumper. Reminding him of the disappointment.
Reminding him of unfinished business.
Cruz will be 33 years old when the Olympic torch is lit on July 14, 2028, signaling the opening of the Los Angeles Games.
His daughter will be 7. His son not quite 5. Perhaps his dream of becoming the head coach of a Division I program will be in full throttle, passing along the lessons of the sport and life he learned from family and others in the wrestling-crazed Lehigh Valley.
“The fire, the feeling to compete, is still there for me.”Darian Cruz
And the average age of an Olympics freestyle wrestling champion is 26 ½ years old.
So, L.A.?
“I mean, if you ask me right now, it’s gonna be a no,” Cruz said, almost reluctantly, as the fires to compete continue to rage.
“But L.A. is right in our backyard. It’s not like traveling to Paris or London or Beijing. It’s here.”
The tug-of-war between competing and cashing it all in persists. In one breath, Cruz is sliding out of his singlet. In the next, he says he would love to compete in Los Angeles.
“The fire, the feeling to compete, is still there for me,” he said. “The passion. My body feels great. I’m just getting the hang of freestyle wrestling.
“I know those Olympics are four years away, but it's incredibly dangerous to still have that feeling, that fire. So, I’m just going to take it a year at a time.”
Memories for life
The images remain indelible, in his mind and in his heart.
Carter Cruz standing in the middle of some 50 family and friends in the stands in Paris. Locking eyes with her dad. Screaming and cheering as he walks toward her after pinning his first Olympics opponent.
And daddy’s little girl one day later. In the middle of family and friends in the arena. Locking eyes with him. Bawling her eyes out.
“I’ll never forget seeing her when I lost my last match, just crying her eyes out,” Cruz said. “She’s 3, she doesn’t understand the magnitude of it all. I was crying a little after I lost. She saw that and was just feeling the emotions of seeing daddy genuinely upset. She probably hasn’t seen me in that manner.
“When she and Toi get older, I’ll talk to them about winning and losing. I’ll talk to them about how you work hard for a dream and handle whatever happens with dignity and respect. If I can do that as a parent, I’ll have done my job as a father.”
They should hand out gold medals for that.
