Kyle Snyder already has one of the best resumes ever for a U.S. wrestler, and he’s just now hitting his prime.
At age 20, he became the youngest American wrestler to win Olympic gold when he achieved the feat at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, and then he claimed silver at the Tokyo Games. He was a three-time NCAA champion at Ohio State and has won three world championships.
Now 28, Snyder looks to add to his legacy at the Paris Olympics. If he wins gold in the 97-kilogram freestyle category, he would join George Mehnert, John Smith and Bruce Baumgartner as the only American two-time gold medalists.
He says he’s his best version of himself heading into Paris.
“My body feels stronger and in better condition than it’s ever been,” he said. “So I feel really good. And technically, I’m getting better and better and focusing on the right things in practice.”
Snyder has been solid in the years since Tokyo, winning a world championship in 2022 and claiming bronze at the 2023 worlds.
He won’t have an easy path back to the top of the podium. He may have to contend with 21-year-old Akhmed Tazhudinov of Bahrain, who defeated him 10-0 on his way to a world championship in 2023.
Snyder said the 6-foot 2 Tazhudinov has exceptional reach and is a technically sound defensive wrestler who excels at taking advantage of his opponents’ mistakes.
“He just wrestles in a lot of weird positions and scrambles well,” Snyder said. “He’s able to think while he’s on the mat and make adjustments.”
U.S. men’s freestyle coach Bill Zadick said Snyder is at his best when challenged.
“I think Kyle Snyder is the type of guy that thrives at that opportunity and that challenge,” Zadick said. “He wants to be the guy that has the toughest road, the greatest competition. And he wants to be the guy. He likes to test himself. He likes to know where it’s at.”
One challenger who won’t be there is Abdulrashid Sadulaev, who beat Snyder for the gold in Tokyo. Sadulaev competed there as part of the Russian Olympic Committee. The International Olympic Committee did not include Sadulaev on its list of eligible athletes from Russia and Belarus for the Paris Game. He had been barred from Olympic qualifiers in April by United World Wrestling, the sport's governing body, for his support of the Ukraine-Russia war.
Snyder believes he will be prepared, regardless of the opponent. He said he became a dominant wrestler because he challenged the best in practice along the way.
“Ever since I was a kid, I always thought I was going to win in everything I ever did,” he said. “I don’t know why I felt that way. I wrestled people that were older, better and stronger and bigger, and they kicked my butt. And then the next time we wrestle, I’d think I’d win. And then they kicked my butt. And we did that for a long time, and eventually I’d catch up to them.”
Snyder adds a high level of intelligence to exceptional physical tools and his willingness to be tested. Zadick said that even when Snyder was a teenager, he was “like a 30-year-old pro, 28-year-old pro, trapped in a 17-year-old body.”
“He’s really sharp, really smart,” Zadick said. “I think he’s thinking in an innovative way and adding new things to his style and being creative. And so, I’m excited for him. He just loves that. He loves what he does. And, he’s just full of passion. And that’s exciting. And I think it bodes well for anybody that has that kind of drive and fire inside them."
Now, Snyder is the guy up-and-comers learn from. Heavyweight Mason Parris is making his Olympic debut, and he already has latched onto Snyder to help him prepare.
“He’s a guy I’ve always looked up to growing up, and it’s awesome that I’m able to pick his brain and learn a lot of stuff from him — a guy that is a veteran like him," Parris said. "He’s an awesome dude, and I’m grateful I could train with him sometimes and learn from him.”
AP Olympics https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
FILE - United States' Kyle Snyder, right, celebrates after winning gold against Cuba's Arturo Silot, left, during the men's 97kg wrestling freestyle final bout at the Pan American Games Santiago, Chile, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. Kyle Snyder already has one of the best resumes ever for a U.S. wrestler, and he’s just now hitting his prime.(AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
French President Emmanuel Macron rejected the resignation of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal Monday, in the wake of a chaotic election result that left neither left, right, nor center with a majority in the National Assembly.
A broad left-leaning coalition, the New Popular Front, took the most seats in Sunday’s runoff but fell short of a majority.
It surged ahead of the far-right National Rally, which placed third behind Macron's centrist party. Voter turnout was high.
The outcome leaves France facing the stunning prospect of a hung parliament and threatens political paralysis in a pillar of the European Union and Olympic host country.
The far right drastically increased the number of seats it holds in parliament but fell far short of expectations.
What happens next in this nuclear-armed nation has potential to impact the war in Ukraine, global diplomacy and Europe’s economic stability.
Currently:
— With French voters split between left, center and right, political paralysis threatens.
— Global markets are mixed as France faces weeks of uncertainty.
— Here's a guide to how French elections work and what could happen next.
— How Marcon went from successful political newcomer to weakened leader.
Here’s the latest:
French markets are taking the results of Sunday’s election in stride even though no political force won a majority and the country faces weeks of political uncertainty.
This comes as the scenario that had investors worried the most didn’t happen: a majority for either the left-wing New Popular Front or for the populist, anti-immigration National Rally of Marine Le Pen. Both have made expansive promises to increase social spending or in the National Rally’s case to cut taxes, steps that could have increased France’s already large budget deficit and led to financial turmoil.
The CAC-40 index — which includes the country’s biggest companies such as luxury goods makers LVMH and Hermes, cosmetics and personal care company L’Oreal and oil major TotalEnergies. —rose 0.2% to 7,692.97.
A key index of financial market tension eased slightly as the spread, or difference, between yields on French government bonds and highly safe German government bonds shrank from .77 percentage point to .62 percentage point.
Analysts said that without a clear majority in parliament, France may nonetheless struggle to reduce its budget deficit swollen by consumer support spending during the energy crisis which began when Russia cut off most supplies of natural gas over the invasion of Ukraine.
The government in Germany, which together with France has long been viewed as the engine of European integration, expressed relief Monday that the nationalist far right had not become the strongest party in its key partner country.
“For now, a certain relief prevails that things that we feared have not materialized,” a spokesperson for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters in Berlin. “Only time will tell what happens with this election result and France will decide.”
“The German-French relationship is a very special one,” Steffen Hebestreit added. “It is certainly also the core for the fact that we are experiencing Europe in peace and freedom.”
Members of French President Emmanuel Macron’s Cabinet trickled into the presidential palace on Monday after chaotic election results left no political faction with a clear majority.
Among the arrivals late Monday morning were the prime minister named by Macron just seven months ago, and the interior minister.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has said he would offer his resignation Monday but said he would stay “as long as duty requires.” His departure would leave France without a head of government less than three weeks before the start of the Paris Olympics.
Attal on Sunday made clear that he disagreed with Macron’s decision to call the surprise elections. The results of two rounds of voting left no clear path to form a government for either the leftist coalition that came in first, Macron’s centrist alliance, or the far right.
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron leave after voting for the second round of the legislative elections in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, northern France, Sunday July 7 2024. Voting has begun in mainland France on Sunday in pivotal runoff elections that could hand a historic victory to Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally and its inward-looking, anti-immigrant vision — or produce a hung parliament and political deadlock. (Mohammed Badra, Pool via AP)
Supporters of the Socialist Party react after the second round of the legislative elections, Sunday, July 7, 2024 at their election night headquarters in Paris. A coalition on the left that came together unexpectedly ahead of France's snap elections won the most parliamentary seats in the vote, according to polling projections Sunday. The surprise projections put President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance in second and the far right in third. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Supporters of the Socialist Party react after the second round of the legislative elections, Sunday, July 7, 2024 at their election night headquarters in Paris. A coalition on the left that came together unexpectedly ahead of France's snap elections won the most parliamentary seats in the vote, according to polling projections Sunday. The surprise projections put President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance in second and the far right in third. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Far-right National Rally party president Jordan Bardella delivers a speech after the second round of the legislative election, Sunday, July 7, 2024 at the party election night headquarters in Paris. A coalition on the left that came together unexpectedly ahead of France's snap elections won the most parliamentary seats in the vote, according to polling projections Sunday. The surprise projections put President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance in second and the far right in third. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)
Far-right National Rally party leader Marine Le Pen answers reporters after the second round of the legislative election, Sunday, July 7, 2024 at the party election night headquarters in Paris. A coalition on the left that came together unexpectedly ahead of France's snap elections won the most parliamentary seats in the vote, according to polling projections Sunday. The surprise projections put President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance in second and the far right in third. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)
Far-right National Rally party leader Marine Le Pen answers reporters after the second round of the legislative election, Sunday, July 7, 2024, at the party election night headquarters in Paris. A coalition on the left that came together unexpectedly ahead of France's snap elections won the most parliamentary seats in the vote, according to polling projections Sunday. The surprise projections put President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance in second and the far right in third. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)
Far-left La France Insoumise - LFI - (France Unbowed) founder Jean-Luc Melenchon, delivers his speech after the second round of the legislative elections Sunday, July 7, 2024 in Paris. A coalition on the left that came together unexpectedly ahead of France's snap elections won the most parliamentary seats in the vote, according to polling projections Sunday. The surprise projections put President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance in second and the far right in third. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal delivers a speech after the second round of the legislative elections, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Paris. A coalition of the French left that quickly banded together to beat a surging far right in legislative elections won the most seats in parliament but not a majority, according to polling projections Sunday, a stunning outcome that threatens to plunge the country into political and economic turmoil. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal walks back to the Prime Minister residence after delivering a speech following the second round of the legislative elections, Sunday, July 7, 2024 in Paris. A coalition of the French left that quickly banded together to beat a surging far right in legislative elections won the most seats in parliament but not a majority, according to polling projections Sunday, a stunning outcome that threatens to plunge the country into political and economic turmoil. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
