Hagerstown Plans Aaron Brooks Olympic Celebration
Hagerstown welcomed Olympic wrestler Aaron Brooks home on Sept. 7, 2024, with an autograph event, a procession and a ceremony at Meritus Park where the city presented him with a key. Brooks had won bronze in men’s freestyle wrestling at 86 kg at the Paris Olympics.
A hometown celebration
Before the Meritus Park ceremony, Brooks met fans at Younger Toyota. The Herald-Mail reported that hundreds attended the homecoming, which included a procession through downtown; Mayor Tekesha Martinez presented the key and declared Sept. 7 Aaron Brooks Day. Herald-Mail event report.
Brooks earned the Olympic bronze by defeating Uzbekistan’s Javrail Shapiev 5–0 in the 86 kg bronze-medal bout, according to United World Wrestling’s Paris results coverage. United World Wrestling.
Later update
In February 2026, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced that an independent arbitrator imposed a two-year ban after Brooks tested positive for DHEA in an out-of-competition sample collected April 21, 2025. USADA said the arbitrator found the violation unintentional but determined Brooks bore significant fault. The ineligibility period runs June 13, 2025, through June 12, 2027, and his results from the sample date onward were disqualified. USADA’s sanction notice.
Sources
Tags: Wrestling
