Penn State wrestling star Aaron Brooks cleared for Olympics after PED testing controversy

Next stop for Aaron Brooks: Paris. Per Brooks’ father, the Penn State wrestling star has been cleared to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics after a paperwork issue on a drug test at the U23 World Championships last fall put his eligibility into question. The four-time National Champion for the Nittany Lions became caught up in controversy last week after reports of the failed drug test were leaked.

Aaron Brooks cleared to compete in 2024 Summer Olympics

As he predicted last week, Penn State wrestling star Aaron Brooks is good to go ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics. The father of the first-time Olympian, John Brooks, took to social media Thursday afternoon to share that his son is cleared for Paris.

This guy is cleared and heading to Paris! Bring it home AB 🥇 pic.twitter.com/CvY7fXWLZy

— johnbrooks (@johnbro32652292) May 16, 2024

Brooks’ eligibility for the Summer Olympics had been thrown into some doubt after reports surfaced last week that the Nittany Lions star had failed a PED test at the U23 World Championships in October for not reporting a prescription for Adderall.

Speaking on the Baschamania podcast last Friday, Aaron Brooks explained the situation, which he said had become misconstrued online:

“But I looked at it [the report], and I laughed at first. Because, one, it’s [the drug] not even Adderall, dude. It’s Vyvanse. Whole wrong medication, so I already know someone is twisting it.

“But what had really happened was, I had been prescribed that for college just because I was really struggling in school. And my first overseas tournament, honestly, since I first got into college…I go overseas, and I’m still in classes, like I’m still [dealing with] mid-semester workload, all these things. I’m traveling, and I’m doing school as well.

“Whenever I went to take the drug test, I even wrote down the medication on it. It wasn’t like I was hiding something. But I didn’t put the prescription, which is what the doctors needed. So because I didn’t bring the prescription, it flagged as maybe he got it off the streets. So, what I then had to go do was show that I was prescribed it. Get it to lawyers and then to whoever it was: WADA [World Anti-Doping Agency], USADA [U.S. Anti-Doping Agency], whatever it is. And they just had to put it through the clearinghouse.

“That’s why I was able to wrestle at Trials. At first, I wasn’t because they had to accept that it was my prescription, talk to the doctor that gave it to me, and just make sure it was legit. Then it got cleared the last Thursday before Trials. So that was that.”

Penn State wrestling to take over Paris

If you didn’t know better, the Avenue Champs-Élysées might start to look a little like College Avenue this summer. Five former members of the Penn State wrestling program or current NLWC athletes will take the world stage in Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Of course, the Blue and White is best represented on Team USA. Aaron Brooks joins fellow Penn State wrestling alum Zain Retherford as a first-time Olympian in 2024. After winning the Olympic Trials Championship at 65 kg in April, Retherford put on a stellar performance in the repechage at the World Olympic Games Qualifier in Turkey last weekend to punch his ticket.

In addition, Kyle Dake and Kyle Snyder of the NLWC will make their returns to the Olympic Games. Dake will look to build on his Bronze Medal at the Tokyo Games in 2020. Snyder is eyeing his second Gold Medal and has now qualified for three Olympics.

The Nittany Lions will have some international representation as well, with ex-Penn State wrestling star Roman Bravo-Young earning his spot to Paris for Team Mexico at the 2024 Pan-American Olympic Qualifier in March.

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