US Olympic gold-medalist arrested for alleged involvement in prostitution ring

Olympic gold medalist and former Ohio State wrestling standout Kyle Snyder was arrested Friday in connection with an alleged prostitution ring in Columbus/

Snyder, 29, was among 16 individuals arrested in the operation, which involved undercover officers posing as sex workers.

According to Columbus police spokesperson Sgt. Joe Albert, Snyder responded to a decoy escort ad posted online, contacted the undercover officer, and allegedly offered cash in exchange for a sex act.

He was arrested at the scene.

Snyder’s arrest comes less than a year after competing in his third Olympic Games in Paris, where he finished fourth in the 97kg freestyle wrestling category.

He previously won gold in Rio 2016 and bronze in Tokyo 2021, and remains one of the most decorated American wrestlers in recent history.

At Ohio State University, Snyder secured three NCAA championships (2016–2018) and earned national acclaim for becoming the youngest American to win Olympic, World, and NCAA titles in the same year.

He was inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2024.

Snyder had recently signed with the Real American Freestyle Wrestling League, set to launch in August under the leadership of Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff.

He had also been training under coach Cael Sanderson at Penn State with ambitions to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Neither Snyder nor his legal team has commented publicly on the arrest. The investigation is ongoing, and formal charges are expected to be filed in the coming days.

USA Wrestling and Ohio State University have yet to issue official statements regarding the incident.