Randy Lewis (wrestler)

Last updated
Randy Lewis
Personal information
Full nameRandall Scott Lewis
BornJune 7, 1959 (1959-06-07) (age 64)
Rapid City, South Dakota, U.S.
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing the Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Olympic Games
Olympic rings.svg
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1984 Los Angeles 62 kg
Junior World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg1977 Las Vegas57 kg
Collegiate Wrestling
Representing the Iowa Hawkeyes
NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1979 Ames 126 lb
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1980 Corvallis 134 lb
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1978 College Park 126 lb

Randall Scott Lewis (born June 7, 1959) is an American wrestler and Olympic champion. He competed at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where he won the gold medal in freestyle wrestling in the featherweight class. [1] [2] In 1998, Lewis was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member. [3]

Contents

High School career

Lewis won three high school state wrestling titles in South Dakota. At one point in his high school career, Lewis held the national consecutive pin record, with 45 straight. He later won the Junior World (20 years old and younger) Freestyle Championship.

College and Senior level career

In college, Lewis became a four-time All-American and two-time NCAA champion at the University of Iowa. He was a two-time Olympian, in both 1980 and 1984. President Jimmy Carter's boycott prevented the U.S. team from traveling to the 1980 Olympic Games held in Moscow, Russia.

At the 1984 Olympic Games, Lewis won the gold medal at the 62 kg weight division in freestyle wrestling, outscoring his first four opponents 52-4 to advance to the final, where he defeated Japan's Kosei Akaishi 24-11 in 4:52. He was second in the 1988 U.S. Olympic trials to John Smith, losing out in a best of three series. Smith went on to capture Olympic gold in both the 1988 and 1992 Games.

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References

  1. "1984 Summer Olympics – Los Angeles, United States – Wrestling". databaseOlympics.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2008. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
  2. "Wrestling – Olympic Games – Men: Freestyle -62 kg". sports123.com. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
  3. Randy Lewis. National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 18, 2022.