Penn State Wrestling

Olympics: Penn State Wrestling Legend Aaron Brooks Wins 1st Olympic Match

Published

August 8, 2024

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - APRIL 20: David Taylor (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) and Aaron Brooks (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) wrestle in the men’s freestyle 86kg division of the Olympic Wrestling Team Trials on April, 20, 2024 at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, PA. (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire)

One of the greats in Penn State wrestling history now has an Olympic win on his resume.

Aaron Brooks, representing the United States of America at 86 kg, picked up a 4-3 win over top seeded Azamat Dauletbekov of Kazakhstan.

Although the score indicates the match was a nail biter, Brooks was in control for the most part.

He did fall behind, 1-0 on a step out before responding with two takedowns. Two late points made it 4-3, but that’s as close as it will get.

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Brooks now moves on to the quarterfinals, where he’ll take on Japan’s Hayato Ishiguro later Thursday morning. He’s now three wins away from an Olympic Gold Medal, and the expectation is that he’ll have to face 2016 Gold Medalist and 2020 Silver Medalist Hassan Yazdani (Iran) to get there.

First Olympic takedown of Aaron Brooks’s career.

Many more to come! pic.twitter.com/9q5jovKsVv

— American Wrestling Fan 🇺🇸🤼‍♂️🌬 (@EZ_Wrestling) August 8, 2024