The Olympic journey of former Hawkeye wrestling great Spencer Lee has come to a close — but not quite how he had hoped.

Competing at 57 kilograms, Lee’s journey to the Olympics began with a last-chance qualifying run at the World Qualification Tournament in Istanbul, Turkey, from May 9-12. He dominated some of Europe, Asia, and Africa’s most talented wrestlers in the weight division en route to finishing as a semifinalist — thus advancing to the Paris Games.

There, Lee swapped the Black and Gold singlet for the red, white, and blue on behalf of the U.S. His Round of 16 match against Zou Wanhao of China — who gave him a tough time in his 10-9 Round of 16 win in Istanbul — too, was his closest of the Olympics, although he advanced with a 3-2 win.

The Murrysville, Pennsylvania, product dominated from then on, cruising to the final match after a 12-2 technical fall win over Bekzat Almaz Uulu of Kyrgyzstan in the quarterfinals and a 14-4 technical fall win over Gulomjon Abdullaev of Uzbekistan in the semifinals.

Lee was back into the figure and form of his championship-winning days in Iowa City just two years ago. But this time, it was for a piece of history. A gold medal could lie around his neck in just six more minutes of wrestling — or less.

So, it was on to Rei Higuchi of Japan — the odds-on-favorite to win gold this time around after winning silver at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro — but Lee looked strong, quick and confident. His appearance sparked hope that he could overcome his rival.

However, Lee fell short of the prize in a 4-2 loss.

He was forced to shoot in the last 30 seconds of the match despite a 2-2 tie because of Higuchi’s advantage in the tie-breaking point. He thus surrendered himself to a takedown that sealed the deal.

Still, Lee was one of the U.S.’s 126 medalists — and Iowa wrestling’s 11th and first to win better than bronze since his coach, Tom Brands, won gold in Atlanta in 1996. For now, the podium finish put a cap on a historic wrestling career, the best Iowa has seen in years.

But it was not quite a satisfying one.

“I’m a guy who believes more in wins and losses,” Lee said after the match, according to USA Today. “It’s more about effort, and I don’t think I put a lot of effort in that match, so I didn’t deserve to win today.

“First thing I thought of was to take [the silver medal] off,” he continued. “I don’t think there’ll ever be a perspective where I think it’s good. Twenty years from now, you try and name Olympic silver medalists. I bet you can’t. It’s because no one cares.”

Lee took to Instagram to post his journey with the caption that included his saying, “I was disappointed yesterday in not bringing home the gold for the United States. I am however proud to bring a silver medal back to the United States and the University of Iowa.”

And when Lee returned to Iowa, silver medal held in hand like an old toy he no longer wanted, he seemingly forced a smile for the crowd of fans greeting him with cheers at Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids.

“It might not be the color I wanted, but that’s OK,” Lee joked before embracing family and signing autographs.

Still, the fate of his champion, Higuchi, could serve not just as motivation but as inspiration for Lee. After winning silver in 2016, Higuchi opted to continue training in search of gold. He missed qualifying for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo but bounced back and achieved that goal this year at 28 years old.

“I have passed through a setback and despair, but I managed to succeed by believing in myself,” Higuchi said of his gold medal accomplishment, according to The Hindu, an Indian English-language newspaper.

Two years ago, after losing to Matt Ramos in the NCAA Tournament and ending his Hawkeye career, Lee escaped the hustle of his daily life to spend time in Japan gathering his thoughts about the future of his wrestling career.

It can be expected that he’ll do something similar now, embarking on a bit of soul-searching to find where wrestling takes him next. A coaching gig? Or a vengeful run for gold once more at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles?

“A lot of time and effort [was] put into getting back into a healthy enough state to wrestle, and then I go and I fail,” Lee said. “So, we’ll figure it out from here.”