Like David challenging Goliath, when Brandon Slay stepped onto the mat against three-time World and reigning Olympic champion Bouvaisa Satiev in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, few predicted that he had even a chance of winning. Slay quickly took the seemingly invincible champion down and to his back for a 3-1 lead. The wily Russian bounced back to tie the match, but neither wrestler was able to score again in regulation.

Thirty-four seconds into overtime, Slay shot a double leg for the takedown and the win. His overtime victory ranks among the biggest upsets in United States wrestling history and grew even more legendary after he captured the gold medal at 167.5 pounds.

Slay’s gold medal was the pinnacle of an international career that saw the Amarillo, Texas native overcome the odds to become the first Texan ever to win the U.S. Open, earning Outstanding Wrestler honors. He was also one of the first wrestlers from the Lone Star State to win the U.S. Olympic Trials.

In senior international competition, he won the inaugural Dave Schultz Memorial International Tournament, the Dan Kolov, the Five Continents Cup and the Macedonia Pearl. Slay was a two-time University Nationals winner, a two-time Espoir National Freestyle champion, a four-time Junior National All-American, and a two-time Cadet World medalist in Greco-Roman.

Many trace the modern-era success of the University of Pennsylvania wrestling team to Slay’s arrival on campus. As a freshman in 1994, he helped the Quakers capture their first Ivy League title since 1972 while being named Ivy League Rookie of the Year and first-team all-conference. After earning All-Ivy honors again in 1995, Slay took a year off and won national freestyle and Greco-Roman titles. Upon his return, he won back-to-back Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association titles and advanced to the NCAA Division I championship match two years in a row, becoming the first All-American at Penn in 33 years. He was the EIWA Wrestler of the Year in 1997 after winning a record 33 matches, and in 2009 was inducted into the EIWA Hall of Fame.

Slay won three Texas state wrestling championships for Tascosa High School in Amarillo, and on the gridiron was voted the top defensive player in the Texas panhandle as a senior.

In recognition of his outstanding wrestling achievements and his conviction that the seemingly impossible is always possible, Brandon Slay is honored as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.