Former Penn State wrestler Aaron Brooks out of gold medal contention — here’s how it happened

Former Penn State wrestler Aaron Brooks lost to a last-second move and is no longer in gold medal contention at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The former Nittany Lion led Bulgaria’s Magomed Ramazanov 3-2 with less than five seconds left, when Ramazanov earned two exposure points by turning Brooks to his back, earning the 4-3 semifinal win at 86 kg. Brooks led the match 3-0 after the first period.

He earned his spot in the Olympics by knocking off fellow former Nittany Lion David Taylor at the Olympic Team Trials in the Bryce Jordan Center in April. He won his first two bouts in Paris, defeating No. 1 seed Azamat Dauletbekov of Kazakhstan, 4-3, in the first round and Japan’s Hayato Ishiguro in the quarterfinals by technical superiority, 11-1.

Brooks, who won four national titles and four Big Ten titles at Penn State, was not the only former Nittany Lion who wrestled Thursday, with Roman Bravo-Young representing Mexico at 57 kg. Bravo-Young fell to Armenia’s Aarsen Harutyunyan, who then lost in the quarterfinals — eliminating Bravo-Young from being pulled back in via repechage.

Brooks will wrestle for a bronze medal Friday against a to be determined opponent.