Franklin Gómez Matos

Franklin Gómez Matos (born August 5, 1986) is a Dominican freestyle wrestler that represents Puerto Rico.

Early years and education

Gómez was born in Puerto Plata Province in the Dominican Republic. In 1991, his father died as a consequence of medical malpractice. As a result, his mother Margarita Matos decided to move to Puerto Rico, along with Franklin and her other two sons: Emanuel and Abel.

Wrestling career

Gómez began wrestling when he was 9 years old, training at Club Sparta in San Juan. His first coach was Pedro Rojas. 1998 Gomez moved to Florida. He wrestled at Brandon High School in Brandon, Florida and won a state title at 119 lb his senior year. He wrestled for Michigan State and won and NCAA Division I title at 133 pounds in 2009. After graduation, he was recruited to Penn State University and trains freestyle wrestling at the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club.

Franklin Gomez won for Michigan State the NCAA title.

During the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, Gómez won the first gold medal in the sport of wrestling for Puerto Rico. He has won his last three races in Romania, Italy and Germany. In his last performance, he defeated the current world champion in the 60 kg, the Russian wrestler Besik Kudukhov, claiming the gold medal in the Grand Prix of Germany. After becoming the sub-champion and winning a Silver medal in the 2011 World Championships, Gomez also won his country a spot at the 2012 London Olympics.

Silver Medal at the World Championships in Istanbul 2011.

At the 2012 Olympics in London, Gómez was set to face Kudukhov again on the first round. Kudukhov defeated him 1-3 and eventually won gold. Later, Gómez fought against Yogeshwar Dutt in the repechage rounds, but lost again 0-3.