COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Rulon Gardner blamed his stubborn right foot for the defeat Sunday in the finals of the Dave Schultz Memorial International -- his first full tournament since he lost a toe to frostbite last year.

The 267-pound Gardner, who gained worldwide fame after winning a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, lost to Cuba's Mijain Lopez 3-0.

''If my feet were regular, I could have tried to hook my toe and get my balance before I went all the way down,'' Gardner said. ''But I think with my toes still the way they are, I don't want to challenge them 100 percent.''

Gardner became stranded for 18 hours in sub-zero temperatures in the wilderness of western Wyoming last February when his snowmobile got stuck. Soaking wet, he spent the night outside as the temperature plummeted to 25-below before rescuers found him.

A series of operations and skin grafts, as well as therapy in a hyperbaric chamber, saved all but the middle toe on his right foot.

Gardner stunned Russia's Alexander Karelin in Sydney to win the heavyweight gold, handing the Russian his first international defeat in 13 years.

Gardner had pointed toward the Schultz tournament as a first step toward qualifying for the 2004 Olympics, and he was in excellent form in his match Saturday, defeating Colombia's Danis Renteria 11-0.

But Lopez secured his biggest victory since the 2002 Pan Am Games.

U.S. Olympian Sam Henson defeated Chikara Tanabe 3-2 in the 120-pound freestyle match.

Ten Americans earned titles, half of which went to female wrestlers.