Sunnyside wrestling legend Roman Bravo-Young has qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics representing his mother’s ancestry in Mexico, and he wants his family to join him for the momentous occassion.
The family has set up a GoFundMe account to help with their travel expenses of approximately $15,000 to cover flights, hotels and tickets for his grandparents, mother, brother and sister.
CLICK ON THIS TO ACCESS TO GOFUNDME LINK FOR BRAVO-YOUNG’S FAMILY
“Any contribution would be appreciated, and I am grateful in advance for any support that comes our way! God Bless, RBY,” Bravo-Young mentioned in a statement.
“It is a dream come true to have the opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games,” he stated. “I get to do what I love every single day, and would really appreciate it if my family got to experience this dream with me. They never really get to watch me compete, especially at this level, so it would mean a lot to me to have their presence in Paris.”
Bravo-Young was a four-time state champion from 2015-18 at Sunnyside, where he compiled a 182-0 record.
In the 2020-21 season at Penn State, Bravo-Young had an undefeated regular season, and claimed his first Big Ten title with a win over rival Austin DeSanto from Iowa. At the NCAA Championships, Bravo-Young became a national champion with a hard-fought win in sudden-victory over NCAA finalist Daton Fix from Oklahoma State, after an undefeated tournament. He closed out the season with a 14–0 record, and was later named the Penn State Male Athlete of the Year.
After another undefeated regular season in 2021-22, Bravo-Young claimed his second Big Ten title with another win over DeSanto. Bravo-Young became a two-time national champion with another win over Fix, capping off another perfect season with a 22–0 record.
Bravo-Young graduated from Penn State as a two-time NCAA national champion, four-time All-American and three-time Big Ten champion, with a record of 100–10.
His high school and college records combined were 282-10.
Last July, Bravo-Young announced he would be transferring and representing Mexico in freestyle, his grandparents’ native country. By the end of the month, Bravo-Young claimed the Mexican National Qualifier title, wearing the Mexican singlet for the first time.
Bravo-Young claimed the Mexico Grand Prix title at 57 kilograms in December, defeating all three opponents by technical fall.
In January of this year, Bravo-Young claimed a gold medal from the Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane, scoring wins over African champion Diamantino Iuna Fafé and US National Team member Daniel Deshazer.
In March, Bravo-Young competed at the Pan American Olympic Qualification Tournament, in an attempt to qualify Mexico for the Summer Olympics. After victories over Enrique Herrera and Pedro Mejías to make the semifinals, Bravo-Young was able to defeat Óscar Tigreros to become an Olympian.
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