| Austin Gomez | |
| Headercolor: | Gold |
| Fullname: | Austin Klee Gomez |
| Birth Date: | March 19, 1998 |
| Birth Place: | Carol Stream, Illinois, U.S. |
| Country: | (2013–2021) (2022–present) |
| Sport: | Wrestling |
| Weight Class: | 65kg (143lb) |
| Event: | Freestyle and Folkstyle |
| Collegeteam: | Michigan Wolverines |
| Club: | Cliff Keen Wrestling Club |
| Coach: | Sean Bormet |
| Medaltemplates: | Michigan Wolverines Wisconsin Badgers Iowa State Cyclones |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
Austin Klee Gomez (born March 19, 1998) is a Mexican-American freestyle and former folkstyle wrestler who competes at 65 kilograms.[1] In freestyle, he represented Mexico at the 2024 Summer Olympics and is a Mexico National champion.[2]
In folkstyle, Gomez was a two-time NCAA Division I All-American, placing second in 2024 out of the University of Michigan and fourth in 2022 out of the University of Wisconsin.[3]
Gomez started wrestling around the age of four years old, and went on to attend Glenbard North High School in Carol Stream, Illinois, where he became a three-time state champion before graduating in 2017.[4] One of the top-recruits in the country, Gomez was a multiple-time U17 US National champion and a Pan American champion in both freestyle and Greco-Roman.[5]
Before his junior season, Gomez committed to wrestle for the Iowa State Cyclones.[6] Before going off to college, Gomez placed second at the U20 US World Team Trials.[7]
Gomez competed under a redshirt during his first season, grabbing titles from the Willie Myers Open, the Duhawk Open and the Sioux City Dave Edmonds Open and recording a 8–0 record.[8]
After the season, Gomez grabbed the U20 US National title and improved from a runner-up finish from 2017 to a first-place finish at the U20 US World Team Trials in freestyle.[9] However, he decided against competing at the U20 World Championships due to a knee injury.
During regular season, Gomez won the Lindenwood Open and placed second at the Southern Scuffle, before a third-place finish at the Big 12 Conference to qualify for the NCAA tournament.[10] At the tournament, Gomez went 4–2 though was unable to place, closing off the year at 24–7.[11]
Gomez was unable to compete during 2019–2020 due to injury, using a medical redshirt.[12] In October 2020, Gomez competed at the US National Championships, where he suffered an injury in a first round loss and forfeited his next match.[13] In December 2020, Gomez made the decision to retire from the sport due to recurrent concussions and injuries, at the age of 22.[14] [15]
After a brief retirement, Gomez entered the transfer portal in April, and in May, he committed to wrestle for the Wisconsin Badgers.[16] [17] Up at 149 pounds, Gomez became the Big Ten Conference champion before becoming an All-American with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA National tournament, closing out the year at 23–4.[18]
On November, Gomez competed for Mexico at the Mexico All-Star Grand Prix, winning gold at 70 kilograms and defeating Olympian Agustín Destribats in the finals.[19]
During regular season, Gomez held a 10–2 dual meet record, notably defeating three-time NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis early in the year though suffering an injury during his last meet which resulted in a loss.[20] After a first round upset loss, Gomez was forced to default out of his second match due to injury at the Big Ten Championships, though receiving an at-large berth to qualify for the NCAA tournament.[21] At the national tournament, Gomez went 2–2 and was unable to repeat as an All-American, closing out the year at 12–6.[22]
A week after folkstyle season was over, Gomez became a Mexico National champion, with notable victories over three-time Pan American medalist Brandon Díaz and Outstanding Wrestler honors.[23] In May, Gomez competed at the Pan American Championships, but was eliminated by Colombia in the first round.[24]
In September, Gomez competed at the World Championships, where after defeating India's Anuj Kumar, he was eliminated by two-time NCAA Division I National champion Nick Lee.[25]
After graduating from Wisconsin in the spring, Gomez announced 2022–2023 had been his final season of collegiate wrestling, however, he entered the transfer portal in October, and in December, his petition for another year of eligibility was approved by the NCAA.[26] Days later, Gomez announced his commitment to the Michigan Wolverines, and went 7–1 in dual meets for them during regular season.[27] [28]
To start off March, Gomez switched to freestyle in an attempt to qualify Mexico for the 2024 Summer Olympics at the Pan American Olympic Qualification Tournament.[29] After a quick victory over Chile, Gomez avenged his loss from the World Championships and defeated Pan American champion Nick Lee in a high-scoring match to advance to the qualification match.[30] In the semifinals, Gomez defeated Lachlan McNeil to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics, and the finals of the tournament were not wrestled.[31]
Back to folkstyle for the post-season, Gomez placed as a runner-up at the Big Ten Conference Championships and claimed the sixth-seed at the NCAA tournament.[32] After defeating three-time All-American Kyle Parco to cruise to the finals, he fell to Caleb Henson to place as a runner-up and become a two-time All-American, closing out the year at 13–3 and ending his collegiate career.
In June, Gomez competed at the Polyák Imre & Varga János Ranking Series, where he won one match while losing three to place fifth.[33]
In August, Gomez made his Olympic debut at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, where he was eliminated in the first round by three-time World champion Haji Aliyev from Azerbaijan, who failed to advance in the tournament.[34]
! colspan="7"| Senior Freestyle Matches|-! Res.! Record! Opponent! Score! Date! Event! Location|-! style=background:white colspan=7 ||-|Loss|13–7|align=left|
Haji Aliyev|style="font-size:88%"|0–7|style="font-size:88%"|August 8, 2024|style="font-size:88%"|2024 Summer Olympics|style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" |
Paris, France|-! style=background:white colspan=7 ||-|Loss|13–6|align=left| Haji Aliyev|style="font-size:88%"|3–12|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4|June 6, 2024|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4|2024 Polyák Imre & Varga János Memorial Tournament|style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=4|
Budapest, Hungary|-|Loss|13–5|align=left|
Kotaro Kiyooka|style="font-size:88%"|6–12|-|Win|13–4|align=left| György Szilágyi|style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0|-|Loss|12–4|align=left| Abbas Ebrahimzade|style="font-size:88%"|2–7|-! style=background:white colspan=7 ||-|Win|12–3|align=left|
Lachlan McNeil|style="font-size:88%"|6–3|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|March 1, 2024|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|2024 Pan American Olympic Qualification Tournament|style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=3|
Acapulco, Mexico|-|Win|11–3|align=left|
Nick Lee|style="font-size:88%"|TF 22–12|-|Win|10–3|align=left| Matias Muñoz|style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0|-! style=background:white colspan=7 ||-|Loss|9–3|align=left| Nick Lee|style="font-size:88%"|Fall|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2|September 18, 2023|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2|2023 World Championships|style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=2|
Belgrade, Serbia|-|Win|9–2|align=left|
Anuj Kumar|style="font-size:88%"|8–7|-! style=background:white colspan=7 ||-|Loss|8–2|align=left|
Uber Cuero|style="font-size:88%"|TF 0–11|style="font-size:88%" |May 3–6, 2023|style="font-size:88%" |2023 Pan American Continental Championships|style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;"|
Buenos Aires, Argentina|-! style=background:white colspan=7 ||-|Win|8–1|align=left| Brandon Díaz|style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5|March 25, 2023|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5|2023 Mexican Campeonato Nacional|style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=5| Oaxaca, Mexico|-|Win|7–1|align=left||style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0|-|Win|6–1|align=left| Carlos Lizarraga|style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0|-|Win|5–1|align=left| Brandon Díaz|style="font-size:88%"|TF 15–4|-|Win|4–1|align=left| Diego Olvera|style="font-size:88%"|TF 12–2|-! style=background:white colspan=7 ||-|Win|3–1|align=left| Agustin Destribats|style="font-size:88%"|TF 14–4|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|November 22, 2022|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|2022 Mexico All-Star Grand Prix|style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=3| Mexico City, Mexico|-|Win|2–1|align=left| Victor Dominguez|style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0|-|Win|1–1|align=left| Jesus Doroteo Rivas|style="font-size:88%"|Fall|-! style=background:white colspan=7 ||-|Loss||align=left| Michael Jaffe|style="font-size:88%"|FF|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2|October 13, 2020|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2|2020 US National Championships|style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=2| Coralville, Iowa|-|Loss|0–1|align=left| Jaden Abas|style="font-size:88%"|TF 2–12|-