OSU junior Kyle Snyder shows off his gold medal at the Welcome Back event for OSU Olympians. Credit: Ashley Nelson | Sports Director
Kyle Snyder, world champion, Olympic gold medalist and Buckeye, took home gold at the Ivan Yarygin Memorial Grand Prix in Krasnoyarsk, Russia on Jan. 29.
The Yarygin tournament is considered to be one of the toughest open tournaments in the world. This was Snyder’s second appearance. In 2016, Snyder took home bronze.
The junior at OSU was his dominant self, winning his first three matches by a combined score of 33-2, and then coming from behind to pin Rasul Magomedov (Russia) and take home the gold medal.
In winning this tournament, Snyder became just the 11th American male, and first since 2009, to take home gold. The 2009 winner was Steve Mocco.
This news comes on the heels of a tightly-matched loss by the No. 4 Buckeyes to No. 3 Iowa on Friday for their first loss of the season. OSU entered their heavyweight matchup against Iowa down 18-13, needing a fall to secure a victory.
Snyder will return to wrestle the Buckeyes presumably for the rest of the season, barring any more international tournaments. The Buckeyes will need Snyder’s presence for their Feb. 3 matchup against No. 2 Penn State.
