Despite high expectations, the U.S. men’s freestyle wrestling team failed to win a gold medal at the 2024 Olympics for the first time since 1968, with notable losses including Kyle Snyder’s semifinal defeat and other team members falling short in their respective matches.
High hopes surrounded the U.S. men’s freestyle wrestling team entering the 2024 Olympics. Instead, they made history for all the wrong reasons.
Kyle Snyder, the 2016 Olympic champion, became America’s last hope for gold. He ultimately fell to Akhmed Tazhudinov from Bahrain in the semifinals at 97kg. Despite his best efforts, Snyder couldn’t generate enough offense and suffered a second straight loss to Tazhudinov, who had beaten him 11-0 at the 2023 World Championships.
With Snyder’s loss, the U.S. men’s freestyle team returns home without a gold medal for the first time since 1968.
The American team’s 56-year run ends amid arguments that this was their strongest squad ever. Multiple world champions and top-ranked athletes competed in 2024.
Unfortunately, the U.S. contingent struggled from the start. Mason Parris fell in the qualification round at 125kg. He had taken over the roster spot from Gable Steveson, the 2020 Olympic gold medalist who left wrestling for WWE and now plays football for the Buffalo Bills.
Three-time NCAA champion and World champion Zain Retherford was shut out 8-0 by Iranian Rahman Amouzad in the opening round. This ended Retherford’s chance for gold.
Former Iowa standout Spencer Lee had a strong shot at gold after reaching the finals at 57kg. However, he lost to Japan’s Rei Higuchi and goes home with a silver medal in his first Olympics.
Aaron Brooks also faced a stunning upset loss to Bulgaria’s Magomed Ramazanov in his semifinal matchup at 86kg. Brooks had made the Olympic team by beating David Taylor, the 2020 gold medalist. Though Ramazanov captured gold by defeating Iranian legend Hassan Yazdani, Brooks bounced back with a bronze medal win.
Kyle Dake, a four-time World Champion, was one of the heaviest favorites going into Paris. He fell short in a wild match against Japan’s Daichi Takatani via a 20-12 score. A scoring controversy in his bronze medal match led to Dake shouting at judges before he angrily returned to toss Serbia’s Hetik Cabolov over his head, securing five points and victory.
Dake leaves with a second bronze medal. At age 33, this could be his final Olympics.
While Snyder and Retherford still have chances to win bronze, expectations were sky-high for multiple golds after a strong showing in the 2020 games. The U.S. led all nations with nine total medals then, including golds for Taylor and Steveson.
Five of the six team members are still vying for medals. But these results are far from what the U.S. squad anticipated heading into the 2024 Olympics.