Jordan Burroughs won five straight matches on Sunday to capture a World title. Larry Slater photo.

The way Jordan Burroughs sees it, this is just the beginning.

Three days after winning a gold medal at the World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, Burroughs already is setting his sights on even loftier goals in freestyle wrestling at 74 kg/163 lbs.

Burroughs, 23, a two-time NCAA champion for Nebraska, wants to make a run at John Smith’s amazing run of six straight World-level titles (four World and two Olympic).

Burroughs, a New Jersey native, finally arrived back in Nebraska after a long journey home.

His flight plan took him from Istanbul to Frankfurt, Germany before he flew from Frankfurt to Washington, D.C. He then flew to Chicago before finally landing at home in Lincoln, Neb. on Monday night.

Burroughs (Lincoln, Neb./Sunkist Kids) said he will take a few days off before resuming training in preparation for the Pan American Games next month in Mexico.

A jet-lagged Burroughs talked with USA Wrestling’s Craig Sesker during a phone interview on Wednesday morning.

Has it fully sunk in yet that you are a World champion?

I still don’t think it’s sunk in all the way yet. It really hasn’t hit me completely. Seeing how happy and excited other people are about it makes me realize the magnitude of what I accomplished.

What did you think when your bracket was posted and you saw you would face two-time World champion Denis Tsargush of Russia in the second round?

My first thought was, this sucks. I drew No. 1 and the higher number is usually good because you have fewer guys on your side of the bracket. (U.S. National Coach) Zeke Jones told me he drew No. 1 when he won his World title. When I saw I had Tsargush right away, I thought I had the worst draw. After sitting down and thinking about it, I thought it was good that I could face him early in the tournament. I just had to be ready to go right away.

You gave up the first takedown in your first match of the tournament against Ukraine’s Dmytro Rochniak. What were you thinking at that point?

I knew it was going to be a tough road. I got taken down in every match of the tournament. I just didn’t panic and kept my composure. I trained hard and I knew if I kept wrestling hard that good things would happen.

You lost the first period of your second-round match against Tsargush, who won World titles in 2009 and 2010. How were you able to regroup and win the match?

He’s a really good scrambler. Once I lost the first period, I knew I should have won the period and let him sneak away with it. I continued to work hard. I knew I was in great shape and I knew I could wear him down if I got him into the third period.

The U.S. coaches complained that Tsargush kept grabbing your singlet during the match. What exactly was he doing?

He was definitely grabbing my singlet. We knew going into the match that was something that he does. During the match, he grabbed my singlet and pulled himself into a single leg and got a takedown on me. He ripped a big hole in my singlet.

How tough was it to come back for your next match after such a big win over Tsargush?

It was very tough. I was emotionally drained after that match. I just had to calm down and prepare for the next match. My coaches (Mark Manning and Bryan Snyder) helped me a lot with that.

Following your quarterfinal win over Venezuela’s Ricardo Moreno, you rallied to pull out a tough three-period win over Azerbaijan’s Ashraf Aliyev in the semifinals. How challenging was that match?

The guy from Azerbaijan was very hard to take down and finish on. I shot in on two double legs and I thought I would be up 6-0, but they had the score 4-4. I didn’t understand how they awarded the points there. Then I got a pushout, but they didn’t give me a point for that. It was kind of crazy, but I was able to pull that match out. It was a big sense of relief after that match, knowing I was in the finals.

What did you do during the break before the finals?

I went to get something to eat with Coach Manning and Bryan Snyder, and then I went back to the hotel and took a shower. I had cut my ear during the Azerbaijan match. I had cauliflower ear, and he clubbed it and it exploded. Blood came pouring out and it was really gross. Dr. (Bob) Hines and Darryl Miller gave me a shot in my ear to make it numb, and then they bandaged my head back up again for the finals.

What was it like walking up on the platform to face 2010 World silver medalist Sadegh Goudarzi in the finals with all of his Iranian fans going crazy?

It was intense. Iran has great fans. They are loud with all their chants and cheers. I just tried to get to my offense and take the crowd out of the match. They were still pretty loud though.

What was the emotion like when you won the match to became a World champion?

It was awesome. It was exhilarating. It also was a huge relief. It was something I had planned on doing, but it was very exciting when it finally happened. A lot of people doubted that I could even make the World Team this year and that definitely motivated me. I used it to drive me and it paid off.

What was it like to stand on top of the medal podium and hear the Star-Spangled Banner being played?

It was amazing to have our flag raised and the national anthem played. It was an amazing feeling. It was a great feeling to be able to represent my country and accomplish what I did. They cut the anthem off in the middle of the song. That was weird, but at least I heard a little bit of it.

You said previously you planned to wrestle through the next Olympic cycle ending in 2016. Is that still your plan?

That’s exactly my plan. I’m going to try and beat John Smith’s record. If I win every Olympic and World title between now and then, I would tie it with six titles. Then I would have to wrestle in 2017 and try to break his record. I know that would be very difficult, but I’m going to try my best to do it. It would be something incredible to accomplish.

Many top wrestlers have jumped into mixed martial arts. Is that something you might consider when you are done wrestling?

I’ve thought about it. There is obviously a lot of money in it and it’s very lucrative, but I’m not really a fighter. We will see what happens. Right now, my plan is to continue to wrestle through this Olympic cycle and the next one.

You earned $50,000 from the Living the Dream Medal Fund for winning a World title. Any plans for what you will do with the money?

I don’t know. I’ve been asked that question a lot the past few days. I’ve never had that much money. I will probably take my family on vacation and save the rest of it.

Have you given much thought to the 2012 Olympic Games in London?

I’m really excited about it. The Olympics have been my dream since I was a kid. Winning a World title is awesome, but the Olympics are the biggest stage we have in wrestling. I can’t wait to wrestle on that stage.

You are still relatively new to freestyle wrestling. How much more can you improve?

I’m still learning. I just started wrestling freestyle full-time after the NCAA tournament in March. I have a lot to work on. I got turned a few times in par terre and I didn’t turn anybody. I have a lot of work to do in that area. I got taken down in every match I wrestled at the Worlds, so I have some work to do defensively. I didn’t wrestle my best tournament, but I still got the job done.

How difficult will it be now that you are the World champion and opponents will be gunning for you now?

People are saying that it will be harder to win it again, but I think it will be easier because I’m going to continue to improve. I will be a lot better wrestler next year as I gain more experience in freestyle. I still have a lot to learn.