Former Penn State wrestler Aaron Brooks will take home bronze medal from Paris Olympics
Former Penn State wrestler Aaron Brooks will take home a bronze medal from the 2024 Paris Games.
Brooks defeated Javrail Shapiev of Uzbekistan 5-0 Friday to earn the freestyle wrestling medal at 86 kg.
The Nittany Lion led 1-0 after the first period and then pulled away in the second to take home the win.
Brooks got to the bronze medal Olympics match after falling to Magomed Ramazanov of Bulgaria in the semifinals Friday in Paris. He was up in the bout 3-2 as the clock wound down, but gave up two exposure points to Ramazanov with less than five seconds on the clock, leading to his 4-3 defeat.
Ramazanov went on to win gold Friday by defeating Iran’s Hassan Yazdani, 7-1.
Brooks won his first two bouts in the 2024 Paris Games, knocking off No. 1 seed Azamat Dauletbekov of Kazakhstan by 4-3 decision in the first round and dominating Hayato Ishiguro of Japan, winning by technical superiority, 11-1.
The former Nittany Lion’s trip to Paris was earned in the Bryce Jordan Center, where he won the challenge tournament at the Olympic Team Trials in April, setting himself up for a matchup with fellow former Penn State wrestler David Taylor. He defeated Taylor twice in a row to clinch his spot on Team USA.
Brooks is the first Penn State-affiliated wrestler to earn a medal at the 2024 Summer Games. Roman Bravo-Young was eliminated in the first round at 57 kg, while Zain Retherford will not begin his Olympics until Saturday. Nittany Lion Wrestling Club members Kyle Dake and Kyle Snyder are also participating in Paris, with Dake wrestling for bronze Saturday and Snyder beginning his tournament the same day.
This story was originally published August 9, 2024 at 2:50 PM.
