Snyder wrestles in men's freestyle 97kg final

(Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

(LAKANA) – American wrestler Kyle Snyder won gold in the men's freestyle 97-kilogram weight class at the Rio Olympics on Sunday.

Snyder beat Khetag Goziumov of Azerbaijan in the gold medal match to cap off the wrestling program on the final day of the Rio Games.

Recommended Videos



Snyder, a 20-year-old Maryland native, went undefeated in his first three years of high school before foregoing his final season in 2013 to enroll in a residency program at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

Later that year, at age 17, he became the youngest American in more than 20 years to win a FILA Junior World championship.

The world champion for his weight class in 2015, he also helped Ohio State to an NCAA title as a freshman in the 2014-15 season and then went undefeated the following season to win the NCAA heavyweight title.


Recommended Videos