Kyle Snyder at a press conference before the Olympic Games (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)For wrestling fans who felt Ohio State heavyweight Kyle Snyder was snubbed when he wasn't listed among the Best Male College Athlete ESPY award nominees named earlier this week, here's some good news.
The 2016 Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler has been nominated for an ESPY as Best Male U.S. Olympic Athlete, Ohio State announced today.
Wrestling fans can vote for Snyder at the official ESPN website.
The Olympic and collegiate mat champ is going up against some heavyweight competition for an ESPY. In addition to Snyder, other Best Male U.S. Olympic Athlete nominees include decathlete Ashton Eaton, and swimmers Ryan Murphy and Michael Phelps.
Winners are determined exclusively by an online vote of sports fans. The winners will be announced during the 25th ESPYs awards show at 8 p.m. Eastern on July 12 on ABC.
Earlier this week, Zain Retherford, two-time NCAA 149-pound wrestling champ for Penn State, was nominated for an ESPY for Best Male College Athlete. On social media, some wrestling fans expressed surprise -- and even disappointment -- that Snyder was not in the running for the collegiate ESPY.
Snyder won the gold medal in men's freestyle at 97 kilograms/213 pounds at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro at age 20, becoming the youngest American wrestling Olympic champion in history. The Maryland native is only the second Ohio State wrestler to earn an Olympic medal; Harry Steel won gold in the 1924 Games in Paris.
The ESPY nomination comes on the heels of Snyder being named Ohio State's Male Athlete of the Year earlier this month, putting him in contention for the 2017 Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year. Snyder was also a finalist for two major national awards: the AAU James E. Sullivan Award, given annually to the nation's top amateur athlete, and Dan Hodge Trophy, considered the Heisman of collegiate wrestling.
If Snyder were to win the Best Male U.S. Olympic Athlete ESPY, he would join Rulon Gardner, who received an ESPY after winning the gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling by toppling three-time Olympic gold medalist Alexander Karelin of Russia at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
In the 25-year history of the ESPY awards, a number of top wrestlers have been nominated for various awards. Among the mat stars who have actually received an ESPY (in addition to Gardner): Cael Sanderson (Best Male College Athlete, 2002), Kyle Maynard (Best Athlete with a Disability), and Anthony Robles (Best Male Athlete with a Disability, Jimmy V Award for Perseverance).
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now