Rulon Gardner

Last updated

Rulon Gardner
Rulon Gardner Athens 2004e.jpg
Gardner (right) at the 2004 Olympics
Personal information
Full nameRulon Ellis Gardner
Born (1971-08-16) August 16, 1971 (age 53)
Afton, Wyoming, U.S.
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm) [1]
Weight130 kg (287 lb)
120 kg (265 lb) [1]
Sport
Sport Wrestling
Event Greco-Roman
College team Nebraska
Club Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club [1]
Coached byRobert Christensen
Anatoly Petrosyan
Steve Fraser
Medal record
Men's Greco-Roman wrestling
Representing the Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Olympic Games
Olympic rings.svg
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2000 Sydney 130 kg
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2004 Athens 120 kg
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2001 Patras 130 kg
Pan American Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2003 Santo Domingo 120 kg
Pan American Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg1998 Winnipeg130 kg
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2000 Cali130 kg
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg1997 San Juan125 kg

Rulon Ellis Gardner (born August 16, 1971) is an American retired Greco-Roman wrestler. He won the gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games, defeating Russia's three-time reigning Olympic gold medalist Aleksandr Karelin in the final; [2] Karelin was previously unbeaten for 13 years in international competition. Gardner won a bronze medal at the 2004 Games. [1] In 2010, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member. [3]

Contents

Personal background

Gardner was born in Afton, Wyoming. He is the son of Reed and Virginia Gardner and the last of nine children. His second great grandfather was Archibald Gardner, [4] who was one of the early settlers of Star Valley, Wyoming. He attributes his strength to the physical labor that he performed growing up and working on the family's dairy farm. [5]

In 2005, Gardner published his autobiography (co-written by Bob Schaller), Never Stop Pushing: My Life from a Wyoming Farm to the Olympic Medals Stand, in which he describes his Greco-Roman wrestling career, his academic struggles (as someone who suffers from a learning disability) and an account of his near-death experience when stranded after a snowmobile accident.

As of 2011, Gardner worked as a motivational speaker, often appearing as a keynote presenter and event host. He has appeared at corporate events, celebrity golf tournaments, trade shows, and conventions. He also has licensing deals, as well as print and television endorsements. [6]

In 2012, Gardner and his wife Kami filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in a Salt Lake City Federal court, with $2.9 million in liabilities. [7]

After the Athens Olympics, Gardner gained 210 pounds, culminating in a total body weight of 474 pounds. In January 2011, he was announced as a contestant on season 11 of the American reality television show, The Biggest Loser . After 16 weeks on the show, Gardner had lost 173 pounds. [8] Gardner shocked the trainers, staff, and contestants on the April 26 episode by announcing he would be leaving the show "for personal reasons", and left the show without a final weigh-in. He did not appear on the final episode of the season, except in the background of scenes of other contestants. [9]

Injuries

When Gardner was in elementary school, he was injured during a class show-and-tell, when his abdomen was punctured with an arrow. [10]

In 2002, Gardner went snowmobiling with some friends in the mountains surrounding Star Valley, Wyoming. At one point, he became separated from the group. During his efforts to regain his composure and regroup, he fell into the freezing Salt River with his snowmobile. Unable to move any farther, Gardner decided to build a shelter and wait for a rescue team. He remained stranded for the next 18 hours. After several hours in his makeshift shelter, he stopped shivering, which led him to believe that he was dying. When he was eventually rescued, he was experiencing hypothermia and severe frostbite. Due to the physical damage, a saw had to be used to remove his boots. The harrowing experience cost Gardner the middle toe on his right foot, which he keeps in formaldehyde in a jar in his refrigerator, to remind him of his mortality. [11] [12] He told his story on a first-season episode of I Survived... .

On February 24, 2007, [13] Gardner and two other men survived a crash when a light aircraft he was traveling in crashed into Lake Powell, Utah. The men swam an hour in 44 °F (7 °C) water to reach shore, and then spent the night without shelter. None of the three sustained life-threatening injuries. [14]

Educational background

Gardner attended Star Valley High School in Afton, Wyoming, and was a three-sport letter winner and standout in football, wrestling, and track and field. He was an All-State selection in both football and wrestling, and was also the 1989 Wyoming wrestling state heavyweight champion. In track and field, as a senior, he took second at the state finals in the shot put. [15]

Gardner attended junior college at Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho) in Rexburg, Idaho, and as a sophomore won the NJCAA national heavyweight wrestling championship. He and his first wife Sheri lost their daughter, Stacey in a terrible car accident on December 26, 1990. He then earned a scholarship to attend the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. [16] While at Nebraska, Gardner finished fourth in the 275 lb. weight class at the 1993 NCAA Championships, earning All-American honors. He graduated from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with a bachelor's degree in physical education. [17] He attended both Ricks and Nebraska on wrestling scholarships.

Wrestling career

Gardner's win over Russian Alexander Karelin "shocked the wrestling world." After defeating Karelin, who was previously undefeated in 13 years, he became a local hero in his hometown of Afton, Wyoming. Afton, Wyoming, Home of Olympic Wrestling Champion Rulon Gardner (2484746382).jpg
Gardner's win over Russian Alexander Karelin "shocked the wrestling world." After defeating Karelin, who was previously undefeated in 13 years, he became a local hero in his hometown of Afton, Wyoming.
Gardner (right) interviews Dremiel Byers in 2008, working as an analyst for NBC Sports. Defense.gov photo essay 080613-A-8804H-005.jpg
Gardner (right) interviews Dremiel Byers in 2008, working as an analyst for NBC Sports.

Olympics

Gardner is known for his defeat of three-time reigning gold medalist Aleksandr Karelin at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Karelin had been undefeated for 13 years, and had not given up a point in six years, prior to his loss in the gold medal match to Gardner. [18] Karelin had won their previous match in 1997, with a score of 5–0. [19]

In 2001, Gardner added a world championship to his list of accomplishments with a victory in the finals over Mihaly Deak-Bardos of Hungary. His win made him the only American to ever win both a World and Olympic title in Greco-Roman wrestling. [20]

After the 2000 Olympics he suffered a series of injuries from both a snowmobiling and motorcycle accident. These injuries included an amputated toe and a dislocated wrist, but he still went on to win the U.S. Olympic trials for his weight class and then to compete in the 2004 Summer Olympics. He was unable to repeat his 2000 performance, coming away with the Bronze medal, and after his match, he placed his shoes in the middle of the mat as a symbol of retirement from competitive wrestling. [21]

Gardner competed once in mixed martial arts, and in 2004 he became the host for a professional wrestling league called Real Pro Wrestling. [22]

Gardner served as an analyst for NBC Sports coverage of Wrestling at the 2008 Summer Olympics. [23]

Gardner attempted a comeback for the 2012 Olympics [24] but was unable to make the 264.5 pound max weight limit for the U.S. Olympic Trials and therefore ineligible to compete for a position on the Olympic team. [25]

Mixed martial arts

On December 31, 2004, Gardner fought Hidehiko Yoshida in a judo vs wrestling mixed martial arts (MMA) bout for the Pride Fighting Championships at an event named PRIDE Shockwave 2004. Yoshida, in addition to being an Olympic gold medalist in judo, was a highly successful MMA fighter. Gardner, trained by Randy Couture at Team Quest, won the bout via unanimous decision. [26]

Rulon Gardner mixed martial arts record
DateResultRecordOpponentEventMethodRound, Time
December 31, 2004Win1–0 Flag of Japan.svg Hidehiko Yoshida PRIDE Shockwave 2004 Decision (Unanimous)Round 3, 5:00

Honors and awards

Aside from his Olympic medals, his achievements include:

Published works

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aleksandr Karelin</span> Russian wrestler and politician

Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Karelin is a Russian politician and retired athlete.

Cael Norman Sanderson is an American former folkstyle and freestyle wrestler who is the current head coach of Penn State's wrestling team. As a wrestler, he won an Olympic gold medal and was undefeated in four years of college wrestling at Iowa State (159–0), becoming a four-time NCAA Division I champion (1999–2002).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sara McMann</span> American mixed martial artist (born 1980)

Sara McMann is an American female mixed martial artist currently signed to Bellator MMA, competing in the Women's Featherweight division. She is a former Olympic wrestler and received a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and was a World Silver Medalist and two-time Bronze Medalist. She would then transition to MMA, most notably competing in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

Steve Mocco is an American former amateur wrestler, judoka and mixed martial artist. As a collegiate wrestler, he was a two-time NCAA national champion, four-time finalist, and was awarded the Dan Hodge Trophy. In freestyle, he represented the US at the Olympics and was a three-time Pan American Champion. As an MMA fighter, he most notably competed at the WSOF. He is currently a coach at both combat sports, being one of the main coaches at MMA powerhouse American Top Team and an assistant wrestling coach at Lehigh University.

Steven Howard "Steve" Fraser is an American Greco-Roman wrestler and coach. He was the 1984 Olympic Games gold medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling, in the 90 kg weight class. Fraser's gold medal was the first ever for the United States in Greco-Roman wrestling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mijaín López</span> Cuban Greco-Roman wrestler (born 1982)

Mijaín López Núñez is a Cuban retired Greco-Roman wrestler. Widely considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, López is a five-time Olympic gold medalist, five-time World Champion, for a total of 10 world gold medals, and a five-time Pan American Games champion. He is the younger brother of Michel López Núñez, a Cuban amateur boxer. López was Cuba's flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics, and one of the country's flag bearers at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Ghaffari</span> Olympic Wrestler, Iranian-American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, mixed martial artist

Siamak "Matt" Ghaffari is an Iranian-born American Greco-Roman wrestler, MMA Fighter and professional wrestler. Ghaffari was a two-time USA Olympic team member, obtaining a silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games. Ghaffari finished his career with the most Greco-Roman World and Olympic medals by a United States wrestler. Ghaffari is considered the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler in American history, and is regarded as the standard for Greco-Roman wrestling in the United States.

The men's Greco-Roman 130 kilograms at the 2000 Summer Olympics as part of the wrestling program was held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre from September 25 to 27. The competition held with an elimination system of three or four wrestlers in each pool, with the winners qualify for the quarterfinals, semifinals and final by way of direct elimination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Cejudo</span> American Olympic wrestler and MMA fighter (born 1987)

Henry Carlos Cejudo is an American professional mixed martial artist and former freestyle wrestler. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Flyweight Champion and Bantamweight Champion. Cejudo is the fourth UFC fighter to hold titles in two different weight classes simultaneously, and the second to defend titles in two different weight divisions. He is considered to be among the greatest combat athletes of all time due to his accomplishments in MMA and freestyle wrestling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cary Kolat</span> American wrestler (born 1973)

Cary Joseph Kolat is an American wrestler and wrestling coach who earned two NCAA championships in 1996 and 1997 for Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania and was a member of the United States Men's Freestyle Wrestling Team from 1997–2001. During that time he won silver and bronze medals at the 1997 Krasnoyarsk and 1998 Tehran FILA Wrestling World Championships, as well as competing for the United States in freestyle wrestling at the 2000 Summer Olympics. In 2017, Kolat was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member. Kolat is currently the head wrestling coach at United States Naval Academy.

Lindsey Durlacher was an American Greco-Roman wrestler, mixed martial arts fighter, and judo athlete whose career highlight was a bronze medal at the 2006 FILA Wrestling World Championships at 55 kg. He was among the most accomplished collegiate wrestlers in Illinois history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordan Burroughs</span> American wrestler (born 1988)

Jordan Ernest Burroughs is an American freestyle wrestler and former folkstyle wrestler who currently competes at 74 kilograms.

Mihály Deák-Bárdos is a Hungarian amateur Greco-Roman wrestler, who played for the men's super heavyweight category. He is a four-time Olympian, and a six-time medalist at the European Championships. Deák-Bárdos had also won a total of five silver medals at the World Championships, losing out to numerous top-level wrestlers including Alexander Karelin, Rulon Gardner, Khasan Baroyev, and Mijaín López, all of whom were Olympic champions in the same division.

Yuri Evseichik is a retired amateur Israeli Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's super heavyweight category.

Ernesto Peña Williams is a retired amateur Cuban Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's heavyweight category. He won the gold medal in the 96-kg division at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and was later selected to the Cuban team for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Throughout his sporting career, Pena trained for the wrestling team at Cerro Pelado Sports Club in Havana, under his personal coach and mentor Carlos Ulacia.

Xenofon Koutsioumpas is an amateur Greek Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's super heavyweight category. Koutsioumpas has claimed two medals at the Mediterranean Games, a bronze in the 120-kg division at the 2001 World Wrestling Championships in Patras, and has been selected to the nation's Olympic wrestling team when Greece hosted the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Throughout his sporting career, Koutsioumpas, along with his younger brother Georgios, trained as a member of the Greco-Roman wrestling team for Olympiacos F.C. in Piraeus, with whom he won the European CELA Cup in 2006. Since 2012 they have been training at Atlas Mytilenes under their head coach Sotirios Petrakis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nebraska Cornhuskers wrestling</span>

The Nebraska Cornhuskers wrestling team represents the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Big Ten Conference of NCAA Division I. Since its inception in 1910, the program has an all-time record of 773–576–29 with seven conference tournament titles and eleven individual NCAA champions. The team has been coached by Mark Manning since 2000.

Wrestling in the United States include the styles of folkstyle, along with the Olympic styles of freestyle and Greco-Roman. These three styles make up the main forms of amateur wrestling that are contested competitively within the country, not to be confused with the sportive entertainment form of professional wrestling. Folkstyle is a form of wrestling that is only contested in the United States at the youth levels through college. Wrestling in the United States is contested and practiced throughout the country, with the sport having a strong regional presence in areas such as the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Southwest.

Jordan Michael Oliver is an American professional mixed martial arts fighter and former freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes in the featherweight division of Bellator MMA.

<i>Rulon</i> (film) 2021 American documentary film

Rulon is a 2021 documentary film directed by Adam Irving about Rulon Gardner, an American retired Greco-Roman wrestler. It premiered on NBCSN on April 2, 2021.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rulon Gardner". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020.
  2. ↑ Niesen, Joan (November 18, 2020). "Rulon Gardner and the lonely afterglow of Olympic gold". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  3. ↑ Rulon Gardner. nwhof.org. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  4. ↑ Gardner, Rulon; Schaller, Bob (2005). Never Stop Pushing. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers. p. 43. ISBN   0-7867-1593-6 . Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  5. ↑ Gardner, Rulon; Schaller, Bob (2005). Never Stop Pushing. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers. p. 24. ISBN   0-7867-1593-6 . Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Booking Rulon Gardner Speaker Appearances, Rulon Gardner Agent Manager Contact, Hiring Rulon Gardner Speaking Engagements Costs Fees". Athletepromotions.com. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Rulon Gardner files for bankruptcy". USA Today .
  8. ↑ Posnanski, Joe (March 21, 2011) "Point After: Losing, and Loving It", Sports Illustrated , p. 105.
  9. ↑ "The Biggest Loser" Season 11 Finale Recap: A great cast is the ultimate trump card Archived August 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ "Gardner lives to tell of another life-threatening accident – Olympics – ESPN". ESPN. February 28, 2007. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Daugherty: Having embraced wrestling to fullest, Gardner lets go". Enquirer.com. August 26, 2004. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  12. ↑ "NWS Riverton WY – Rulon Gardner". Crh.noaa.gov. February 4, 2010. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  13. ↑ [ dead link ]
  14. ↑ "Olympian Gardner survives small plane crash (AP report)". ESPN . ESPN. February 26, 2007. Retrieved August 9, 2008.
  15. ↑ Wolinetz, Adam (June 29, 2001). "Rulon Gardner to receive Citizenship Through Sports Alliance award for sportsmanship | TheMat.com – USA Wrestling". TheMat.com. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  16. ↑ "Gardner bio". Nationwide Speakers Bureau. Archived from the original on April 13, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2008.
  17. ↑ "Rulon Gardner". RulonGardner.com. Rulon Gardner. 2008. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
  18. ↑ "Aleksandr KARELIN | Olympic Athlete | Atlanta 1996, Barcelona 1992, Seoul 1988, Sydney 2000". Olympic.org. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  19. ↑ McCallum, Jack (October 9, 2000). "Bumper Crop: By Beating the Unbeatable Karelin, U.S. Farm Boy Rulon Gardner Reaped a Stunning Golden Harvest". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  20. ↑ Abbott, Gary. "Two-time Olympic wrestling medalist Rulon Gardner undergoes additional surgery on his foot damaged b | TheMat.com – USA Wrestling". TheMat.com. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  21. ↑ Mihoces, Gary (August 26, 2004). "Gardner taking his moves home". Usatoday.Com. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  22. ↑ "Pro-Wrestling Gets 'Real' – Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News". FOXNews.com. March 28, 2005. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  23. ↑ "Baltimore Sports News: Sports News, Scores and Schedules – baltimoresun.com". Weblogs.baltimoresun.com. March 12, 2011. Archived from the original on November 30, 2009. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  24. ↑ "Rulon Gardner considers comeback for 2012 Olympics". USA Today. April 28, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  25. ↑ "Despite failed comeback, Rulon Gardner is not finished wrestling". Sports Illustrated. April 26, 2012. Archived from the original on April 27, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  26. ↑ "Rulon Gardner MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography". Sherdog.com. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.