USA OLYMPIC WRESTLING PREVIEW Four ‘15 World champions lead USA
The wrestling competition at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil runs August 14-21 at Carioca Arena 2. Wrestling Team USA is talented and motivated to bring home numerous medals in the three Olympic disciplines: men’s freestyle, women’s freestyle and Greco-Roman. The team has high expectations, with plans to improve on the medal perform- ance from the 2012 London Olympics, where the American wrestlers won four medals (2 gold, 2 bronze). The USA comes in with great momentum, as there are four 2015 World Champions who will represent our nation in Rio: Jordan Burroughs at 74 kg and Kyle Snyder at 96 kg in men’s freestyle and Helen Maroulis at 53 kg and Adeline Gray at 72 kg.
Burroughs is regarded by many as the best pound-for-pound wrestler in the world. He has put together a Hall of Fame career since blasting onto the World scene in 2011. He won the gold medal at the 2012 London Games and boasts three World titles (2011, 2013, 2015). In 2014, an injury in his opening match was followed by a bronze medal. His 2013 World title was amazing, winning the title a month after breaking his ankle. His 129-2 career record on the Senior level is remarkable. What makes Burroughs even more compelling is that he has become a fantastic role model for young people, and is very popular in the general public and with the international media. He is hoping to become only the fourth American wrestler to win two Olympic gold medals, joining George Mehnert (1904, 1908), Bruce Baumgartner (1984, 1992) and John Smith (1988, 1992). Gray has also put up achievements that are among the best in U.S. women’s wrestling history. She is a three-time World champion and five-time World medalist. Her World titles were in 2012, 2014 and 2015, and she has World bronze medals in 2011 and 2013. Only one U.S. woman has more World titles (Tricia Saunders with four). Only one U.S. woman has more World medals (Kristie Davis with nine). She has a devastating ankle lace turn, which often blows matches up, as she can turn
Jordan Burroughs celebrates his 2015 World gold medal. Tony Rotundo photo.
her opponents multiple times and score technical falls seeming- ly at will. Gray wrestled at a non-Olympic weight for her first World medal, but moved up to the highest category for the 2013 season, and has gone bronze-gold-gold at the Worlds in a divi- sion she has dominated. Gray’s achievements have not gone unnoticed by the public and the wrestling community. She has been a leading advocate for opportunities for girls and women in wrestling and in sports, and has devoted considerable time as a mentor and role model for young people.
Maroulis is a multiple World medalist, with a World gold in 2015, a World silver in 2012 and a World bronze in 2013. She has won her medals at 55 kg, which after the changes in the Olympic structure became a non-Olympic weight. Maroulis dropped to 53 kg for the Olympic Trials and the 1st World Olympic Qualifying Event in Mongolia and qualified for Rio. She will pursue her first Olympic medal at a new weight class. Maroulis has a wide variety of offensive attacks which often lead to high scoring matches and impressive victories. As we enter Rio, Burroughs, Gray and Maroulis are all on long winning streaks, which go back two seasons, with great confidence and momentum.
Adeline Gray waves the USA flag after her 2015 Pan American Games victory. Tony Rotundo photo.
22 USA Wrestling Rio Media Guide
Snyder has a miraculous story of his own. He became a Junior World champion at age 17, and two years later, won the Senior World gold medal in Las Vegas at the tender age of 19, the youngest American World champion in wrestling. The leg- endary Lee Kemp had been youngest at 21. If Snyder wins the Olympic gold medal at age 20, he would become the youngest American Olympic champion, ahead of 2008 gold medalist Henry Cejudo, who won his gold at age 21. Snyder wrestles with a maturity, skill set and confidence of a veteran in the sport. Snyder is still a college student, winning an NCAA title at heavyweight for Ohio State as a sophomore in 2016, to go with his NCAA runner-up finish at 197 as a freshman. Snyder came out of Olympic redshirt in mid-season and moved up in weight and beat two-time NCAA champion Nick Gwiazdowski. He then defeated 2012 Olympic champion Jake Varner in the finals of the Olympic Trials in a memorable best-of-three series. Snyder is among three current college wrestling champions
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