What to know about the 5 Penn State-affiliated wrestlers looking for gold at the Olympics
It’s the final week of the Summer Olympic Games in Paris and time for the events wrestling fans have been anxiously awaiting.
Greco-Roman and women’s freestyle wrestling got started on Monday, and men’s freestyle starts on Thursday . There will be five Penn State-affiliated wrestlers on the mats looking to earn a gold medal.
Four of those five wrestlers earned their spots in Paris by competing in April’s U.S. Olympic Team Trials in State College. The other competes for a completely different country.
Here’s a look at the quintet, which includes three former Nittany Lions:
Former Penn State wrestlers
AARON BROOKS
Weight class: 86 kg
Country: USA
Competing: Starts 5 a.m. on Thursday; Starts 12:15 p.m. on Friday should he make medal matches
Outlook: The four-time NCAA champion hasn’t competed since topping former Penn State great and reigning Olympic gold medalist David Taylor in the best-of-three finals inside the Bryce Jordan Center on April 20. This is Brooks’ first Olympics competing, but his second overall after being Taylor’s training partner for the 2020 Tokyo Games. He’s used to the big stage and has thrived on it. This weight class is deep and includes Iran’s Hassan Yazdani, the favorite after Brooks topped Taylor, who has a history with Yazdani. Former Michigan wrestler Myles Amine competes for San Marino in this weight and claimed bronze in Tokyo.
ZAIN RETHERFORD
Weight class: 65 kg
Country: USA
Competing: Starts 5 a.m. on Saturday; Starts 5 a.m. on Sunday should he make medal matches
Outlook: Retherford not only had to earn a spot on Team USA, but he also had to earn his spot into his first Olympics. After topping former teammate Nick Lee in April for the Team USA spot, Retherford went to Istanbul, Turkey in May and won four straight matches to finish third in the Last Chance Qualifier. This weight class is loaded with several World Champions — including Retherford — but it was at a slightly higher weight of 70 kg. NCAA wrestling fans will see familiar faces in Puerto Rico’s Sebastian Rivera and Mexico’s Austin Gomez also competing at this weight. Rivera, who competed at Northwestern and Rutgers, is the defending world silver medalist. Gomez, who competed for Iowa State, Wisconsin and Michigan, pulled off a huge win over Lee, 22-12, in the Pan-Am Games quarterfinals to qualify for Paris. Lee led Gomez 10-4 with just over two minutes left in that match.
ROMAN BRAVO-YOUNG
Weight class: 57 kg
Country: Mexico
Competing: Starts 5 a.m. on Thursday; Starts 12:15 p.m. on Friday should he make medal matches
Outlook: RBY isn’t representing Team USA, but he’s still got a shot at a gold medal at his first Olympics. He’s been training with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, but he’s had a limited freestyle career on the senior level. However, he’s won the two events he entered after earning his spot for Mexico. With his limited exposure to the freestyle scene, it makes him difficult for the others in the weight class to prep for. Team USA’s representative is Spencer Lee, who competed for Iowa. One of the favorites to win the weight was Serbia’s Stevan Micic, who withdrew from the competition Monday due to an injury.
Nittany Lion Wrestling Club Members
KYLE DAKE
Weight class: 74 kg
Country: USA
Competing: Starts 5 a.m. on Friday; Starts 12:15 p.m. on Saturday should he make medal matches
Outlook: Dake makes a return trip to the Olympics after claiming a bronze medal in Tokyo. He won a silver medal in the World Championships, losing to Russia’s Zaurbek Sidakov. Sidakov is ineligible to compete in the Olympics after the International Olympic Committee banned Russia and Belarus from competing due to Russia’s invasion into Ukraine over two years ago. Dake, who won four NCAA titles at four different weights at Cornell, should be the No. 1 seed when the brackets get released later this week, and is considered the favorite to win the weight.
KYLE SNYDER
Weight class: 97 kg
Country: USA
Competing: Starts 5 a.m. on Saturday; Starts 5 a.m. on Sunday should he make medal matches
Outlook: Snyder is making his third appearance at the Olympics. He won in his first trip in 2016 after his sophomore year at Ohio State. He was the silver medalist in Tokyo, losing to Russia’s Abdulrashid Sadulaev. Sadulaev, who is the two-time defending Olympic champion, is ineligible to compete due to Russia’s ban. One might think Snyder would be the favorite with Sadulaev out. However, it is Bahrain’s Akhmed Tazhudinov, who came onto the scene when he teched Snyder in last year’s World Championships on his way to the world title. Azerbaijan’s Magomedkhan Magomedov is expected to be the No. 1 seed with Tazhudinov and Snyder following behind.
