For a guy who never loses, much has gone wrong in Cael Sanderson’s wrestling career.

During his 159-0 ISU career, the Cyclones were never able to take advantage of Sanderson’s transcendent talent with a defining team achievement. While Sanderson was racking up four consecutive national championships, Iowa State was losing seven straight duals against Iowa and winning exactly zero Big 12 titles. The ISU matmen did grab a pair of impressive second-place national finishes during that time — but second place was something that Sanderson had no familiarity with then.

He’s had occasion to learn about second while on the years-long path to winning Olympic gold Saturday in Athens, Greece. The setbacks Sanderson has faced on the mat since graduating from Iowa State were enough to cause one to question whether the Athens Olympics were where we’d see him exhaust his potential with a victory on the world’s biggest stage.

International competition is a dicey venture, as the rest of the Olympics put on display. A surreal sniping match over the validity of Paul Hamm’s gymnastics gold. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell canceling a visit to the Games because of protests. Too many accusations of poor judging and officiating to keep track of.

ISU head wrestling coach Bobby Douglas said as much about worries for the U.S. wrestling delegation before he, Sanderson and ISU assistant Chris Bono left for Europe.

Anything can happen at an Olympic competition — and knowing that is a frightening prospect. For most sports, an Olympic career lasts at best two competitions, which we learn every summer games during the gut-wrenching gymnastics competitions when tiny missteps end dreams and ruin years of preparation.

For that reason, there was cause to be anxious about what had happened during the years leading up to these games for Sanderson.

Circumstances outside his control — the collegiate season in 2001 and security concerns in 2002 — kept him from beginning his international career before finally winning silver at the 2003 world championships. But you couldn’t remove the nagging thought from your head that just a little more international experience might help him in Athens.

Sanderson had to fight back to secure his spot on the Olympic team in May after losing the national freestyle title to former Hawkeye Lee Fullhart. It was shocking to see this guy lose, and it was fair to ask: Could he win it all this year? Or would he be forced into a long, long wait for another shot?

Cael didn’t dominate over the weekend — he won 4-2, 9-1, 6-5, 3-2 and 3-1. But he won — he’s the best in the world.

As it turns out, it’s best not to doubt Cael Sanderson.