American wrestler Kyle Snyder may be only 20 years old, but that didn’t stop him from charging his way to gold.
Snyder, a Maryland native, captured the gold medal on Sunday in the 97-kilogram freestyle wrestling division by beating Khetag Gazyumov of Azerbaijan. The 33-year-old Gazyumov was a bronze medalist at the 2008 and 2012 Games.
The younger Snyder started out the match on the offensive, challenging Gazyumov and setting the tone. After a warning to Gazyumov, the match evened out, with Snyder scoring the first point on a push out. At the halfway point, the match stood 1-0 to Snyder.
After the match resumed, Snyder again came out attacking, with Gazyumov doing his best to defend. After too much inactivity, however, Gazyumov was put on a shot clock, and Snyder scored his second point. From there, Gazyumov went all-out, but it was too late. He could only score one point, and Snyder hung on to win 2-1.
After winning, Snyder grabbed an American flag and held it up to the crowd, then ran to the stands and was lifted up to hug his family.
Snyder won’t have too much time to celebrate, either. He is a junior at Ohio State University, where he plans to compete again this winter.
A rising star in the sport, Snyder got a lot of attention in high school when he amassed a 179-0 record in his first three years, then won a junior world championship in 2013, becoming the youngest wrestler to ever do so.
“Nobody deserves it more than Kyle,” said fellow American wrestler Frank Molinaro, after he just missed out on a bronze medal in the 65-kilogram division earlier in the day. “The kid is young, and he’s wrestling men out there. And he’s the man. He’s throwing these guys down, he’s breaking these guys, and he’s still in college. It’s fun to watch, and fun to be a part of.”
Snyder’s win is part of a strong youth showing by United States’ wrestling program this Olympics. J'Den Cox, a senior at Missouri, won bronze Saturday in the men’s freestyle 86 kg division.
