Four years ago, Travis Stevens lost in the Olympic semifinals in sudden death, missing out on the medal round. Tuesday, he became the first American man to win silver in judo since 1992.
Stevens fell to Khasan Khalmurzaev of Russia in the 81kg (178 pounds) gold-medal final, a disappointing ending, but an impressive rise after a ninth-place finish in Beijing in 2008 and a fifth-place result in London. No American man has ever won a gold medal in judo.
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The 30-year-old Tacoma, Wash.