Kyle Snyder is officially one of the two best wrestlers in the world in the 97-kilogram weight class.
The Ohio State phenom defeated Elizbar Odikadze of Georgia in the semifinals of the 97 kg tournament at the Rio Olympics Sunday morning. Snyder defeated Odikadze 9-4 after falling in a 4-0 hole at the start of the match. He is set to wrestle Khetag Gazyumov of Azerbaijan for gold Sunday afternoon at approximately 2:15 p.m.
"I am ready to go. I am excited," Snyder said. "There will be a little break and then I will be ready to wrestle."
Earlier Sunday, Snyder romped over Romania's Albert Saritov 7-0 in the quarterfinals, complete with a four-point toss and takedown.
Kyle Snyder with the bomb, and he's into the semis pic.twitter.com/SmqVZlK33x
— Fredy Stroker (@thefsiii) August 21, 2016
Here's a still of the thunderous toss:
Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
Snyder also defeated Javier Cortina of Cuba 10-3 in his preliminary round match.
Snyder, 20, is the first Buckeye wrestler to represent the United States in the Olympics in the last 24 years. He also is the defending NCAA and World Champion.
Snyder is seeking to become the first Ohio State wrestler to win Olympic gold since Harry Steel in 1924, though Steel took the top spot in the heavyweight freestyle tournament at the Paris games after he graduated from college. Another Buckeye, Richard Voliva, took silver in the middleweight freestyle at the 1936 Olympics in Germany.
