RIO DE JANEIRO — American wrestler Kyle Snyder may be only 20 years old, but that didn’t stop him from charging his way to gold.
Snyder, a Maryland native, captured the gold medal on Sunday in the 97-kilogram freestyle wrestling division by beating Khetag Gazyumov of Azerbaijan. The 33-year-old Gazyumov was a bronze medalist at the 2008 and 2012 Games.
The younger Snyder started out the match on the offensive, challenging Gazyumov and setting the tone. After a warning to Gazyumov, the match evened out, with Snyder scoring the first point on a push out. At the halfway point, the match stood 1-0 to Snyder.