Vote for Kyle Snyder for USOC Best of January Athlete of Month Award

Vote for Kyle Snyder for USOC Best of January Athlete of Month Award

Help world, Olympic and Yarygin champion Kyle Snyder win USOC January athlete of the month

Feb 3, 2017 by Wrestling Nomad
Vote for Kyle Snyder for USOC Best of January Athlete of Month Award
Olympic champion Kyle Snyder (Woodbine, Md./Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC) has been named a finalist for the USOC Best of January Male Athlete of the Month Award.
 
Snyder became only the 11th U.S. men's freestyle wrestler to win a gold medal at the respected 2017 Ivan Yarygin Memorial International, considered the toughest Open tournament in the world each year.
 
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Voting will continue through Monday, Feb. 6.
 
Snyder won a gold medal at 97 kg/213 lbs. at the Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix in Krasnoyarsk, Russia on January 29.
 
Snyder, a 2015 World champion and 2016 Olympic champion, became only the 11th U.S. male wrestler to win this prestigious tournament, and the first since Steve Mocco in 2009. All 11 U.S. male winners of this tournament have been U.S. Olympians, including five Olympic champions.
 
Snyder powered through his half-bracket, winning three straight matches by technical fall. He opened with an 11-0 win over Chaganxhana of China. The quarterfinal victim was Munkhzhargal Belgutei of Mongolia, who went down 11-1. In the semifinals, he kept up the dominance with an 11-1 win over Hossein Ghorbanali Ramezanianjelodar of Iran.
 
In the finals, Snyder powered back from a second-period deficit to pin Rasul Magomedov of Russia at the 5:02 mark. Trailing 4-1, he scored two takedowns and a stepout for a 6-4 lead. During a scramble, he drove the Russian to his back and scored the pin.
 
Snyder was a 2015 World champion in addition to a 2016 Olympic champion. He was a 2016 NCAA champion for Ohio State at heavyweight. He is currently ranked No. 1 at heavyweight, competing in his junior season.
 
The USOC announced five nominees in the female and male categories, and three nominees in the team category.
 
Other Male Athlete of the Month nominees are Nathan Chen of Figure Skating, Travis Ganong of Alpine Skiing, Andrew Kurka of Paralympic Alpine Skiing and Alexander Massialas of Fencing.
 
Each month, the United States Olympic Committee celebrates the outstanding achievements of Team USA athletes through the Team USA Awards presented by Dow.