Franklin Gómez

Franklin Gómez
Personal information
Full name	Franklin Gómez Matos
Nationality	Puerto Rico
Born	August 5, 1986 (age 38); Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
Height	168 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	74 kg (163 lb)
Sport
Sport	Wrestling
Event(s)	Freestyle and Folkstyle
College team	Michigan State
Club	Nittany Lion Wrestling Club
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing Puerto Rico
World Championships
Pan American Games
Pan American Championships
Central American and Caribbean Games
Dan Kolov – Nikola Petrov Grand Prix
Collegiate Wrestling
Representing the Michigan State Spartans
NCAA Division I Championships
Big Ten Championships

Franklin Gómez Matos (born August 5, 1986) is a Dominican-born Puerto Rican freestyle wrestler.

Early years and education

Gómez was born in Puerto Plata Province in the Dominican Republic. His father, Eugenio Gómez, was a fisherman and his mother, Margarita Matos, was a housewife. In 1991, Franklin's father died as a consequence of medical malpractice. As a result, his mother decided to move to Puerto Rico, along with Franklin and her other two sons: Emanuel and Abel.^[1]^[2] During childhood, Gómez played basketball and baseball. He began wrestling when he was 12 years old, training at Club Sparta in San Juan.

He came to the United States and lived in New Jersey his freshman year of high school where he stayed with a host family, Bill and Diane McGrath, in Hammonton, New Jersey and attended St. Augustine Preparatory School in Richland, New Jersey. He would then move to Brandon, Florida, where he attended Brandon High School. Aside of wrestling, Gómez completed a Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, with a major in psychology from Michigan State, as well as a Master's degree in Business Administration from Walden University.^[2]

Wrestling career

While studying at St. Augustine Prep in New Jersey, Gómez won district and regional titles at 103 and 112-pounds. He then wrestled at Brandon High School in Brandon, Florida and won a state title at 119-pounds his senior year. Gómez wrestled collegiately for Michigan State and won an NCAA Division I title at 133-pounds in 2009. After graduation, he was recruited to the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club at Penn State University, where he trains freestyle wrestling.

During the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, Gómez won the first gold medal in the sport of wrestling for Puerto Rico. He would win his next three tournaments 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.

At the 2012 Olympics in London, Gómez faced Besik Kudukhov of Russia again but this time in the first round. Kudukhov defeated Gomez 3–1 and made the final but was defeated by Toghrul Asgarov of Azerbaijan. With Kudukhov making the final, Gomez was made eligible to wrestle for a medal in the repechage rounds. Gómez fought against Yogeshwar Dutt in the repechage rounds, but lost again 0–3, and Dutt eventually claimed the bronze medal.^[3]

At the 2014 World Wrestling Championships in the round of 16 he lost to Soslan Ramonov (by fall) of Russia and in the repechage round 2 he lost again to Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran of Mongolia (4–7)

At the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Gómez faced Ikhtiyor Navruzov of Uzbekistan. Gómez and Navruzov were tied 5–5 in the second round. As the match was about to end, Gómez made a move that took Navruzov outside of the ring, initially warranting two points for Gómez. However, one of the officers argued that the move favored Navruzov, forcing Gómez' corner to challenge the call. When the officers decided against him, the bout ended 8–5 against Gómez.^[4]

The decision was controversial from the beginning, with various experts and sources calling the decision "insane", and saying that Gómez was "robbed" on Twitter. Some notable wrestlers and coaches that tweeted in support of Gómez were Eric Thompson, Jake Varner, Cael Sanderson, Mark Hemauer, and Ben Askren. Former Governor of Puerto Rico Aníbal Acevedo Vilá tweeted using the hashtag "#GomezGotRobbed". Meanwhile, current Governor Alejandro García Padilla vowed to protest what he called a "theft" to the sport.^[5]

Shortly after the match, the three officers in charge of the match were suspended by United World Wrestling because of "suspicious officiating". They also claimed that an investigation would be done, but their decision couldn't be overturned.^[6] On September 3, 2016, it was announced that the three officers were officially expelled from the UWW, without offering the reasons for the expulsion.^[7]

Achievements

NCAA Division I champion at 133 pounds (2009)
Athlete of the Year at Michigan State University (2009)
Two-time Big Ten Conference champion (2008, 2009)
Silver medal at the 2011 World Wrestling Championships in Istanbul, Turkey (2011)
Gold medal at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico (2011)
Gold medal at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games in Veracruz, Mexico (2014)

Freestyle record

Senior Freestyle Matches
Res.	Record	Opponent	Score	Date	Event	Location
2017 Clubs World Cup for Team USA at 70 kg
Loss	114–46	Mohammad naderi	2–2	December 7–8, 2017	2017 Clubs World Cup	Tehran, Iran
Win	114–45	Lutbayar Batbayar	5–3
Win	113–45	Miroslav Hristov	13–4
Loss	112–45	Vinod Kumar	5–6
Win	112–44	FF	FF
2017 World Championships 8th at 65 kg
Loss	111–44	Alejandro Valdés	2–11	August 6, 2017	2017 World Championships	Paris, France
Win	111–43	Gor Ogannesyan	3–1
Win	110–43	Sixto Auccapiña	8–0
2017 Pan American Championships at 65 kg
Win	109–43	Andres Castañeda	8–5	May 5–7, 2017	2017 Pan American Continental Championships	Lauro de Freitas, Brazil
Win	108–43	Wilfredo Rodríguez	TF 13–2	May 5–7, 2017	2017 Pan American Continental Championships	Lauro de Freitas, Brazil
2016 Summer Olympics 9th at 65 kg
Loss	107–43	Ikhtiyor Navruzov	5–8	August 21, 2016	2016 Summer Olympics	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Win	107–42	Borislav Novachkov	7–4	August 21, 2016	2016 Summer Olympics	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2016 Grand Prix of Spain at 65 kg
Loss	106–42	Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran	1–5	July 9–10, 2016	2016 Grand Prix of Spain	Madrid, Spain
Win	106–41	Ivan Filippov	2–0
Win	105–41	Ilyas Zhumay	TF 10–0
Win	104–41	Kevin Henkel	8–6
2016 Granma y Cerro Pelado International at 65 kg
Win	103–41	Yowlys Bonne		June 10–14, 2016	2016 Granma y Cerro Pelado International	Havana, Cuba
Win	102–41	Alejandro Valdés		June 10–14, 2016	2016 Granma y Cerro Pelado International	Havana, Cuba
2016 Pan American Olympic Qualification Tournament at 65 kg
Loss	101–41	Alejandro Valdés	3–8	March 5, 2016	2016 Pan American Olympic Qualification Tournament	Frisco, Texas
Win	101–40	Hernán Guzmán	8–4
Win	100–40	Brent Metcalf	9–7
2016 Yasar Dogu 7th at 65 kg
Loss	99–40	Haji Aliyev	2–3	February 5–7, 2016	2016 Yasar Dogu International	Istanbul, Turkey
Win	99–39	Omer Uzan	TF 12–0	February 5–7, 2016	2016 Yasar Dogu International	Istanbul, Turkey
2016 Dan Kolov – Nikola Petrov Tournament at 65 kg
Win	98–39	Borislav Novachkov	4–0	January 29–31, 2016	2016 Dan Kolov – Nikola Petrov International	Sofia, Bulgaria
Win	97–39	Mahdi Niazijengheshlaghi'nin	TF 10–0
Win	96–39	Filip Novachkov	7–1
2015 World Championships 28th at 65 kg
Loss	95–39	David Safaryan	4–6	September 10, 2015	[2015 World Championships	Las Vegas, Nevada
2015 Pan American Games at 65 kg
Win	95–38	Marbin Miranda	TF 10–0	July 17, 2015	2015 Pan American Games	Toronto, Canada
Loss	94–38	Brent Metcalf	8–10
Win	94–37	Wilfredo Henriquez	TF 10–0
2014 Central American and Caribbean Games at 65 kg
Win	93–37	Alejandro Valdés	TF 14–3	October 20–24, 2014	2014 Central American and Caribbean Games	Veracruz, Mexico
Win	92–37	Luis Portillo	TF 10–0
Win	91–37	Elvis Fuentes	TF 11–0
2014 World Championships 8th at 65 kg
Loss	90–37	Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran	4–7	September 9, 2014	2014 World Championships	Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Win	90–36	Christophe Clavier	TF 13–0
Loss	89–36	Soslan Ramonov	Fall
Win	89–35	Sayatbek Okassov	5–1
2014 Olympia at 65 kg
Loss	88–35	Akhmed Chakaev	7–10	July 19–20, 2014	2014 Olympia Tournament	Olympia, Greece
Win	88–34	Zurabi Iakobishvili	4–2
Win	87–34	Stelios Mama	TF 10–0
2014 Central American and Caribbean Championships at 65 kg
Win	86–34	Hernán Darío Guzmán Ipuz		April 2–7, 2014	2014 Central American and Caribbean Championships	San Juan, Puerto Rico
Win	85–34	Dayron Lazaro	TF
Win	84–34	Brandon Díaz
2014 Dan Kolov – Nikola Petrov Tournament at 65 kg
Win	83–34	Yiriken Ailixiati	Fall	February 21–23, 2014	2014 Dan Kolov – Nikola Petrov International	Sofia, Bulgaria
Win	82–34	Selahattin Kılıçsallayan	TF 12–0
Win	81–34	George Bucur	TF 12–2
Win	80–34	Rafal Statkiewicz	Fall
2014 Dave Schultz Memorial International at 65 kg
Loss	79–34	Frank Molinaro	1–1	January 30 – February 1, 2014	2014 Dave Schultz Memorial International Open	Colorado Springs, Colorado
Win	79–33	Borislav Novachkov	8–2
Win	78–33	Drew Headlee	TF 14–3
Win	77–33	Brett Robbins	TF 14–4
2013 World Championships 7th at 60 kg
Loss	76–33	Artur Arakelyan	4–6	September 17, 2013	2013 World Championships	Budapest, Hungary
Win	76–32	Andrei Prepeliţă	5–1
Loss	75–32	Bekkhan Goygereyev	5–13
Win	75–31	Hwang Ryon-ghak	8–6
Win	74–31	Bazar Bazarguruev	Fall
2013 Poland Open at 60 kg
Win	73–31	Krzysztof Bienkowski	8–0	August 10, 2013	2013 Poland Open	Spala, Poland
2013 Grand Prix of Spain at 60 kg
Win	72–31	Nikolai Bolotnyuk	5–0	July 13, 2013	2013 Grand Prix of Spain	Madrid, Spain
Win	71–31
Win	70–31
2013 FILA Golden Grand Prix at 60 kg
Loss	69–31	Vladimer Khinchegashvili		May 31, 2013	2013 FILA Golden Grand Prix	Sassari, Italy
2013 Ivan Yarygin Golden Grand Prix 19th at 60 kg
Loss	69–30	Vladimir Flegontov	2–4, 1–0, 1–2	January 24, 2013	2013 Ivan Yarygin Golden Grand Prix	Krasnoyarsk, Russia
2012 Summer Olympics 15th at 60 kg
Loss	69–29	Yogeshwar Dutt	0–1, 0–1	August 11, 2012	2012 Summer Olympics	London, England
Loss	69–28	Besik Kudukhov	2–2, 0–1, 0–1	August 11, 2012	2012 Summer Olympics	London, England
2012 Germany Grand Prix at 60 kg
Win	69–27	Besik Kudukhov		June 30, 2012	2012 Grand Prix of Germany	Dortmund, Germany
2012 Torneo Citta a Sassari at 60 kg
Win	69–27	Salvatore Mannino		June 2, 2012	2012 Torneo Citta a Sassari	Sassari, Italy
2012 Ion Corneanu Memorial at 60 kg
Win	68–27	Andrei Dukov		May 25, 2012	2012 Ion Corneanu Memorial	Targoviste, Romania
2011 Pan American Games at 60 kg
Win	67–27	Guillermo Torres	3–0, 6–0	October 20–24, 2011	2011 Pan American Games	Guadalajara, Mexico
Win	66–27	Yowlys Bonne	2–0, 3–0
Win	65–27	Gabriel García	4–0, 4–0
2011 World Championships at 60 kg
Loss	64–27	Besik Kudukhov	0–5, 0–1	September 17, 2011	2011 World Championships	Istanbul, Turkey
Win	63–26	Dauren Zhumagaziyev	1–1, 0–1, 3–0
Win	62–26	Zelimkhan Huseynov	0–1, 1–0, 2–1
Win	61–26	Lee Seung-chul	2–0, 3–0
Win	60–26	Ri Jong-myong	1–0, 3–0
Win	59–26	Malkhaz Zarkua	4–0, 2–0
2011 Spain Grand Prix at 60 kg
Win	58–26	Tim Schleicher		July 7, 2011	2011 Grand Prix of Spain	Madrid, Spain
2011 Pan American Championships at 60 kg
Win	57–26	Ryley Walker		May 6, 2011	2011 Pan American Continental Championships	Rionegro, Colombia
Win	56–26	Derek Moore	2–0, 5–0	March 17, 2011	2011 NCAA vs. USAW National Team All-Star Dual	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2011 Dave Schultz Memorial International at 60 kg
Win	55–26	Nick Simmons	2–1, 1–0	February 2–5, 2011	2011 Dave Schultz Memorial International Open	Colorado Springs, Colorado
Win	54–26	Reece Humphrey	7–0, 0–1, 3–0
Win	53–26	Coleman Scott	1–0, 1–1
Win	52–26	Nick Fanthorpe	3–0, 1–0
Loss	51–26	Shogo Maeda	6–0, 0–1, 1–4
Win	51–25	Alan Olvera	TF 6–0, 6–0
2010 NYAC International Open at 60 kg
Loss	50–25	Reece Humphrey	0–1, 0–1	November 20–21, 2010	2010 Sunkist Kids International Open	New York, New York
Loss	50–24	Rasul Murtazaliev	3–5, 0–2
Win	50–23	Derek Moore	1–1, 4–0
Win	49–23	James Mancini	Fall
2010 Sunkist Kids International Open 5th at 60 kg
Win	48–23	Steve Mytych	1–0, 2–3, 1–0	October 22–24, 2010	2010 Sunkist Kids International Open	Tempe, Arizona
Loss	47–23	Seshito Shimizu	Fall
Win	47–22	Craig Barker	7–0, 4–0
Win	46–22	Marcus Pettis	4–0, 7–0
Loss	45–22	Drew Headlee	0–1, 0–1
2010 World Championships 20th at 60 kg
Loss	45–21	Malkhaz Kurdiani	2–2, 0–2	September 11, 2010	2010 World Championships	Moscow, Russia
2009 US Northeast Regionals at 60 kg
Win	45–20	Daryl Thomas	Fall	May 15–16, 2009	2009 US Northeast Regional Championships	Waterloo, Iowa
Win	44–20	Nick Trizzino	3–0, 7–0
Loss	43–20	Daniel Dennis	0–1, 2–0, 0–1
Win	43–19	Daryl Thomas	8–1, 1–0
2009 US University Nationals at 60 kg
Win	42–19	Dylan Long	7–0, 3–0	April 24–26, 2009	2009 US University National Championships	Akron, Ohio
Win	41–19	Daniel Mitcheff	1–1, 6–0
Win	40–19	Conor Beebe	4–2, 4–2
Win	39–19	Jimmy Conror	2–0, 3–0
Win	38–19	Jayson Ness	5–1, 1–3, 2–1
Win	37–19	Quinton Leith	TF 6–0, 7–0
Loss	36–19	Coleman Scott	0–4, 1–2
Win	36–18	Nikkien Fauntleroy	TF 7–1, 7–1
Win	35–18	Brian Marcoux	TF 6–0, 6–0
2009 US Nationals at 60 kg
Loss	34–18	Drew Headlee	0–1, 4–3, 0–4	April 9–11, 2009	2009 US National Championships	Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	34–17	Teague Moore	4–0, 0–1, 0–7
Loss	33–17	Tyler Graff	0–3, 1–0, 0–1
2008 US University World Team Trials at 60 kg
Loss	33–16	Reece Humphrey	0–1, 0–1	May 24, 2008	2008 US University World Team Trials	Colorado
Win	33–15	Drew Headlee	3–0, 3–7, 2–0	May 24, 2008	2008 US University World Team Trials	Colorado
2008 US Northeast Regionals at 60 kg
Loss	32–15	Angel Cejudo	1–1, 1–1	May 10, 2008	2008 US Northeast Regional Championships	Iowa
Win	32–14	Jayson Ness	1–1, 0–4, 2–1
Win	31–14	Ben Hanisch	6–0, 3–0
2008 US Nationals 8th at 60 kg
Loss	30–14	Drew Headlee	2–3, 0–6	April 26, 2008	2008 US National Championships	Nevada
Loss	30–13	Dylan Long	4–0, 0–1, 0–7
Win	30–12	Alex Tsirtsis	1–1, 2–0, 1–0
Loss	29–12	Michael Lightner	0–3, 1–3
Win	29–11	Tyler Graff	6–0, 4–2		2008 US National Championships (qualifiers)
Loss	28–11	Dylan Long	2–3, 0–2
Win	28–10	Melvin Lofton	1–1, 2–0, 4–1
Win	27–10	Drew Headlee	2–1, 1–0
2008 US University Nationals at 60 kg
Loss	26–10	Daniel Dennis	0–3, 0–3	April 13, 2008	2008 US University National Championships	Ohio
Win	26–9	Alex Tsirtsis	4–1, 0–1, 3–1
Win	25–9	Chris Jenkins	7–0, 1–0
Win	24–9	Ben Hanisch	TF 6–0, 6–0
Win	23–9	Dalton Bullard	1–0, 6–0
Win	22–9	Matthew Fisk	7–0, 1–1
2007 US World Team Trials at 60 kg
Loss	21–9	Josh Keefe	2–0, 2–3, 0–3	July 10, 2007	2007 US World Team Trials	Nevada
Loss	21–8	Shawn Bunch	0–1, 3–4
Win	21–7	Eric Metzler	4–0, 3–0
2007 US University Nationals 7th at 60 kg
Win	20–7	Mike Grey	7–3, 7–3	April 22, 2007	2007 US University National Championships	Ohio
Loss	19–7	Javier Maldonado	0–1, 2–3
Win	19–6	Terry Williams	4–1, 1–1, 1–0
Loss	18–6	Josh Keefe	0–5, 1–2
Win	18–5	Brent Clausing	5–0, 4–0
Win	17–5	Francisco Manriquez	2–0, 7–0
Win	16–5	Evan Forde	TF 7–0, 7–0
2007 US Nationals at 60 kg
Loss	15–5	Joey Rivera	1–3, 5–3, 2–5	April 7, 2007	2007 US National Championships	Nevada
Loss	15–4	Mike Zadick	TF 0–7, 0–7		2007 US National Championships
Win	15–3	Travis Drake	1–1, 5–1		2007 US National Championships (qualifiers)
Win	14–3	Bryan Osuna	3–0, 6–0
Win	13–3	Josh Keefe	6–0, 1–4, 4–3
Win	12–3	Angel Alegre	TF 8–0, 6–0
Loss	11–3	Danny Felix	0–1, 0–1
2007 US Northeast Regionals at 60 kg
Win	11–2	Danny Felix	1–0, 1–0	March 25, 2007	2007 US Northeast Regional Championships	New York
Win	10–2	Jason Guffey	TF 7–0, 6–0
Win	9–2	Michael Watts	TF 8–0, 7–0
Win	8–2	Rob Labrake	4–2, 7–0
2006 US World Team Trials at 55 kg
Loss	7–2	Matt Azevedo	1–8, 0–2	May 28, 2006	2006 US World Team Trials	Iowa
Win	7–1	Adam Smith	Fall
Win	6–1	Michael Martinez	1–0, 3–5, 2–2
Loss	5–1	Henry Cejudo	1–0, 1–2, 1–3
Win	5–0	Luke Smith	4–2, 7–0
2006 US University Nationals at 55 kg
Win	4–0	Luke Smith	3–0, 3–0	April 30, 2006	2006 US University National Championships	Illinois
Win	3–0	Brad Pataky	3–0, 5–0
Win	2–0	Tim Kephart	3–0, 6–0
Win	1–0	Chris Heilman	TF 6–0, 7–0