Mark. O. Madsen, the first Danish wrestler to medal at an Olympics since 1948, had plenty of reasons to stick with the wrestling path he'd be on most of his life. Like ... so many reasons.
The 35-year-old, who took silver in Rio in 2016, is a three-time Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling. As a member of the Danish Wrestling Foundation, he has received a guaranteed salary the past six years, and was in a good position to make the 2020 Summer Games. Attempting to transition from that world to MMA -- on the wrong side of age 30, in a country that doesn't offer many opportunities in the sport -- was not the most practical choice.