A gold medalist at age 20, Kyle Snyder may develop into the best American wrestler ever.
Victory launches quest for lofty distinction: top U.S. wrestler ever
RIO DE JANEIRO — Three years ago, Kyle Snyder left the comfort of Woodbine, Md., and Good Counsel High, where he had won all 179 wrestling matches of his career.
He moved at 17 to the United States Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., with the aim of making history. Sunday inside Carioca Arena 2, the vision he laid out — and, given its lack of precedence, perhaps the vision only he could see — came true.
Snyder became the youngest American to win a wrestling gold medal, the culmination of his stunning rise to the top of the sport at age 20. He defeated Azerbaijan’s Khetag Gazyumov, 33, a former world champion who won bronze at each of the last two Olympics. Snyder won with a push-out in the first period and by neutralizing Gazyumov, who gave Snyder his second point on a stalling penalty. For the final minute, Snyder wrestled with a one-point lead and held on.
‘He’s the future of the sport’
Snyder, also the reigning world champion at 97 kilograms and an NCAA champion at Ohio State, supplanted Henry Cejudo, who won gold as a 21-year-old at the 2008 Beijing Games.
“It’s incredible,” said American Frank Molinaro, who lost a 65-kilogram bronze-medal match. “Nobody deserves it more than him. He’s a guy who does everything right. He’s a good person. He works hard. He gives you 150 percent every time he wrestles. He’s a good (role) model for kids. 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 them.”
The gold medal provides another new height on Snyder’s ascent. As a freshman at Ohio State in 2015, Snyder lost in the NCAA championship match. Six months later, at 19, he won the world championship in Las Vegas. He claimed an NCAA title in the heavyweight division, and then beat 2012 gold medalist Jake Varner at the U.S. Olympic trials in April.
Sunday’s victory launches Snyder on a trajectory for an all-time Olympic career. If he stays healthy, Snyder’s dedication to wrestling and monumental work ethic justify the belief he will be a favorite to repeat in Tokyo, and perhaps even four years later, when he will be 28.
“He’s the future of the sport,” 2012 American wrestling gold medalist Jordan Burroughs said at the outset of the Games.
Snyder has made it a goal to be the best wrestler of all time. Only two American wrestlers, Bruce Baumgartner and John Smith, have won multiple gold medals.
It might be premature to raise the possibility, but Snyder stands a fighting chance to become the first American to win three.
“I think he’s comparing himself to the standard of what he wants to do,” American coach Bill Zadick said this month. “‘I love wrestling, and it’s a challenge every day: Can I be the best ever? Can I be the best in the world? Can I be the best right now? Can I be the best American?’ He’s super-competitive. His innate competitiveness, he just strives for excellence.”
Joins Maroulis as gold medalist
Snyder became the second American to win wrestling gold in Rio. Helen Maroulis earned the first U.S. gold for a women’s wrestler Thursday with a win over Japanese legend Saori Yoshida. Snyder and Maroulis, who both grew up in Maryland, have been friends for years. When Snyder was 7, he practiced in the same wrestling room as Maroulis.
Snyder can join Maroulis again, this time as an Olympic champion.