Kyle Snyder will represent the United States at the Olympics at the 97kg weight class this August in Tokyo. Leading up to the Olympic Games, we’ll be exploring what colleges contribute the most World/Olympic team members and medals by weight class. In this article, we’ll analyze the last 30 years of results at 97kg from worlds and Olympics to see what college produces the best 97kg wrestlers.

Click the links below to see the rest of the articles in this series

57kg U

74kg U

86kg U

Buckeyes On Top

When Kyle Snyder made the Olympic team in April, that marked the sixth straight time the former Buckeye will be representing the United States at 97kg. That streak of six also ties Oklahoma State's Daniel Cormier’s streak at the same weight class from 2003-2008. What sets Ohio State apart from Cormier’s Cowboys are the performances from both Mark Coleman and J.D. Bergman. Both Ohio State grads made 2 teams during this time period - Coleman in 1991 and 1992 and Bergman in 2010 and 2013.

Take a look at the rest of the colleges who had representatives at 97kg since 1990:

The other remarkable note in this weight class is Ohio State is the only school that has had a variety of reps at this weight since 1990. The rest of the schools represented in the above chart all came from one wrestler. Take a look at the remaining list below:

• Kirk Trost (Michigan) - 1990
• Mark Kerr (Syracuse) - 1993-1994
• Kurt Angle (Clarion) - 1995-1996
• Melvin Douglas (Oklahoma) - 1997-1998, 2000
• Dominic Black (West Virginia) - 1999, 2001
• Tim Hartung (Minnesota) - 2002
• Jake Varner (Iowa State) - 2009, 2011-2012, 2014

Medals

Once again, Snyder’s performance at 97kg the last five years put Ohio State at the top of medal winners. On top of Mark Coleman’s world silver in 1991, Snyder has added to Ohio State’s medal count with 3 golds, 1 silver, and 1 bronze. In fact, Ohio State’s six medals at 97kg since 1990 is equal to all of the other medals won by other schools combined. Take a look the medal distribution by school and individual in the graphs below.

While Oklahoma State was in second place in total world/Olympic team members, Clarion and Iowa State move into a tie for second place. Jake Varner (Iowa State) and Kurt Angle (Clarion) each brought home 2 medals each at Worlds and Olympics. Take a look at the rest of the individual medalists at 97kg below:

Medalists at 97kg Since 1990:

• Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) - 3 Golds, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
• Kurt Angle (Clarion) - 2 Golds
• Jake Varner (Iowa State) - 1 Gold, 1 Bronze
• Mark Coleman (Ohio State) - 1 Silver
• Daniel Cormier (Oklahoma State) - 1 Bronze
• Kirk Trost (Michigan) - 1 Bronze

Kyle Snyder In Tokyo

Due to his performance over the past 5 years, Snyder has already cemented himself as the best 97kg wrestler since 1990. Should he win gold in Tokyo, Snyder will continue to distance himself from the rest of the 97kg field and approach “All-Time Great” status of John Smith, Jordan Burroughs and Bruce Baumgartner.  Click here see a full preview of the 97kg weight class in Tokyo to see how Snyder stacks up against Abdulrashid Sadulaev and the rest of the Olympic field. You can also take a look at our Olympian Rankings at 97kg to see where Snyder ranks based on head to head wins and losses between the 97kg Olympic wrestlers.

*97kg has been a weight at Worlds/Olympics since 2014 and from 1997-2001. Since 2000, the weight similar to 97kg has slightly changed - 96kg from 2002-2013. For consistency, we referred only to 97kg but used data from the aforementioned weights.