Two-time Olympic champion Rizabek Aitmuhan made a statement about his upcoming match with his idol.

The world champion in freestyle wrestling from Kazakhstan, 20-year-old Rizabek Aitmuhan, shared with Caravan.kz his mindset ahead of the match against Olympic champion and three-time world champion from the USA, 29-year-old Kyle Snyder, at the PWL 8 tournament in Almaty on February 25, as reported by Caravan.kz.

Aitmuhan admitted that when he was a child watching Snyder's matches at the World Championships, he could never have imagined that ten years later he would be competing against him.

“In 2015, when Kyle won the World Championship for the first time, I was 11 years old. I watched his matches and couldn't even picture that legends like him would become my opponents. Kyle and Abdurashid Sadulaev are people we looked up to while growing up. It is a great honor for me to compete against Kyle Snyder,” Aitmuhan stated ahead of his match with the American in Almaty.

Snyder is not the first Olympic champion that Rizabek will face in official competitions. In 2024, Aitmuhan wrestled with Ahmed Tajudinov from Bahrain at the Asian Championship, where the Kazakh athlete lost honorably with a score of 2:4. Rizabek notes that competing against such strong opponents is always beneficial and makes him stronger.

“Kyle Snyder, Ahmed Tajudinov — these are very strong opponents, legends in the 97 kg weight class in wrestling history, but I will give my all to achieve victory in the upcoming match and in the future. I don’t want to single anyone out or say who is stronger. They are all strong; each opponent has their own strengths, so I don’t want to highlight anyone. May the best man win,” Aitmuhan remarked.

Speaking about his preparation, Rizabek emphasized that it was conducted at the highest level.

“We knew who we would be competing against, and with my coaching staff, we developed a plan. We underwent training both on the mat and in the mountains, focusing on physical and functional preparation because the opponent is not easy. As of today, we find ourselves in a situation where our adaptation to this 97 kg weight category has been very successful. Initially, it was challenging, but when I first started, I was a bit physically weak. It was tough at first in the 97 kg category, but I got used to it. After the youth championship and the world championship at the age of 23-24, I feel very good in this weight. I have fully adapted to 97 kg,” Aitmuhan assured.

Earlier, Kyle Snyder commented on the upcoming match with Rizabek Aitmuhan after arriving in Almaty.