BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Time and Darian Cruz's Olympic dream had expired.
The referee held India's Aman Sehrawat's arm aloft on Friday. The 57-kilogram bronze medal was his.
On the mat near him knelt Cruz, visibly spent and understandably disheartened. He lay frozen, his forehead buried into the mat, then moved his hands to either side of his head.
When a lifetime dream ends just like that, painfully out of reach on the world stage, disappointment weighs heavy.
"But Darian finishes as one of the top five wrestlers in the world in his weight class. That is something."Jeff Karam, former Bethlehem Catholic wrestling coach
Prior to the match, optimism reigned. Supporters shoehorned into Sotto Santi's restaurant on Fourth Street in South Bethlehem, just around the corner from Cruz's home.
The bar and adjacent tables were packed with pizza, wings and good wishes. Many of them wore Team Cruz T-shirts.
All had come to the restaurant hungering for a bronze for their guy.
It wasn't on the menu.
When Cruz lost, the place went silent. But only momentarily.
As he rose from the mat, so, too, did the collective gatherings' affection for their hometown son as they watched his dream fade to black on the large video screen on the wall near the front door.
"We love you, Darian!"
"You can never disappoint us!"
"We're proud of you, Darian!"
"We feel for him," said Jeff Karam, who coached Cruz to back-to-back PIAA Championships at Bethlehem Catholic, as he watched his wrestler's career draw to a close.
"But Darian finishes as one of the top five wrestlers in the world in his weight class. That is something."
No, Cruz, 29, did not realize his childhood dream of winning an Olympic medal.
But as the days pass, his climb to be spoken of among those in the rarified air of the sport.
Losing, at least not where Cruz is concerned, is not a synonym for failure.
"Regardless of what happened today, Darian will be a success in life," said Nick Cruz, his uncle, who fought back tears when the match ended.
"It's been a long journey, a great journey. He is hard working and humble despite all he's accomplished. This doesn't change how we feel about Darian."
Wearing a white singlet, Cruz led twice — 1-0 and 3-2 after a takedown two minutes into the six-minute match.
But Sehrawat took a 6-3 lead after the first three-minute period.
The closest Cruz drew the rest of the way was 6-5 midway through the final three minutes on a reversal.
Supporters cheered. "OK, Darian, go get him!" one supporter yelled.
But 20 seconds later, it was Sehrawat who took over the match with a pair of reversals for an 8-5 lead.
Cruz was treated on the mat for what appeared to be an ankle injury with under two minutes left.
Soon after, Sehrawat strung together a reversal, takedown and push out to secure the bronze.
Cruz was representing Puerto Rico in honor of his grandparents who are native to the U.S. territory.
Cruz, 29, was bidding to become the second Lehigh Valley wrestler to win an Olympic wrestling medal.
Easton High School and Lehigh University product Bobby Weaver, who incidentally coached Cruz when he was younger, won a gold medal at 48 kilograms (105 pounds) at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984.
Cruz won his first Olympics bout on Thursday over Egypt’s Gamal Mohamed with a pin in 2:30.
Later Thursday, Cruz lost his quarterfinal match to No. 2 seeded Rei Higuchi of Japan by a 12-2 score.
However, despite losing to Higuchi, Cruz also benefited from the Japanese wrestler advancing to the gold medal match.
Due to Higuchi’s win over Sehrawat in their semifinal match, Cruz advanced to the bronze medal match.
Where the dream, but not his impressive accomplishments in the sport, faded away.
