The only person standing between Aleksandr Karelin and a 4th consecutive gold medal was American, Rulon Gardner. His opponent in the 130kg Greco-Roman final was The Russian bear Aleksandr Karelin, a three-time Olympic champion who had not lost an international bout in 13 years. Rulon participated in this from six years old until he started junior high school at 12 years old. Due to the physical damage, a saw had to be used to remove his boots. These proved to be particularly important as Rulon embraced numerous challenges in his life. [13], 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. or superseded by additional information. Subscribe to @olympics: http://oly.ch/Subscribe Enjoy this exclusive interview with Rulon Gardner and Kurt Angle - Olympic wrestling Champions!Watch the . That's a good thing for Gardner, who now weighs in at more than 400 pounds and can use the months to get back to . $499.00. Most Olympic champions will tell you that self-belief is key to being the best in the world. This inspiring memoir tells the story of his impoverished upbringing as one of nine children in a close-knit Mormon family on a farm in Wyoming, where unceasing chores led to tremendous strength at an early age. His feet were so severely frost bitten, doctors told him he would never walk again, but he did. The youngest of nine children, Rulon Gardner was born to Reed and Virginia Gardner on . Rulon Gardner: "And for me growing up here in a small town, I wanted to go out an prove that I was good enough to get a college education. Every day you see the sun come up, you have one more day and one more opportunity to be happy, and to do the things that are important.. Kyle Snyder. Rulon Gardner's signature shoes; Great overall condition; Notes about Asics Rulons: Asic Rulons are one of the most sought after shoes on the wrestling shoe market nowadays. He lost his final match against Rulon Gardner 0-1 after no one had scored a *single point* on him in the previous six years during a 13-year winning streak. For one week every year, Star Valley would have a wrestling camp, which always concluded with a tournament on the weekend. All structured data from the main, Property, Lexeme, and EntitySchema namespaces is available under the Creative Commons CC0 License; text in the other namespaces is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply.. By using this site, you agree to the Terms . Then, weeks before the Olympic Trials while playing basketball, Gardner broke his hand in several places and had to have pins inserted. When he entered the final match, his lifetime record stood at 887-1. An outstanding ambassador for the sport of wrestling in the United States, Rulon Gardner is honored as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Gold medal-winning Olympic wrestler Rulon Gardner and three other swam for an hour in cold water to reach the shore and survived overnight without shelter or fire. Rulon Gardner cartwheeled into the hearts of all Americans when he upset the seemingly invincible Russian Alexander Karelin at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. After retiring from his event by adding a bronze medal in the Athens 2004 Olympics, Rulon the wrecking ball Gardner accepted an invitation to compete in a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) bout. Karelins head work to create space is just fantastic. For one week every year, Star Valley would have a wrestling camp, which always concluded with a tournament on the weekend. In track and field, as a senior, he took second at the state finals in the shot put.[14]. Rulon came back to the Olympics in 2004 to defend his title and took home the Bronze medal. 6 Dan Gable. In 1996, Team USA wrestler Kurt Angle won the gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics. Rulon has never dwelled on the negatives in his life. Gardner spent hours working on his familys 250-acre dairy farm in Wyoming. For one week every year, Star Valley would have a wrestling camp, which . And, I don't know his early history. In 2007, Rulon and two friends crashed a lightweight aircraft into Lake Powell, Utah. Gardner, now a 51-year-old, wants to compete again at the 2024 Summer Olympics. After the radio interview, St. George News asked Gardner if he feels lucky to be alive. Aside from his Olympic medals, his achievements include: On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Two years later, after losing a toe in a snowmobiling accident, he won the 2003 World Team Trials and finished 10th in World competition. . Rulon Gardner celebrates winning gold by defeating Alexandre Kareline of Russia at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. RULON premieres worldwide on Tuesday, 21 July at 7 p.m. EDT at olympicchannel.com and on its apps for mobile and connected TV devices. He was quietly confident going into the 2000 Games in spite of the fact that legendary heavyweight Karelin, undefeated in 13 years and already the owner of three Olympic gold medals, stood in his way. To this day they are in great condition. He won his first four matches and then met up with Aleksandr Karelin in the gold medal match. He would rise before the sun to move bales of hay, chop wood, and milk and clean cows, and attributes his early strength to the rigors of this work. archived form does not constitute a republication of the story. Goold has been published in Sunstone Magazine and has done multiple public readings about local history. He competed at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics and won the gold medal in 2000, defeating Russia's three-time reigning gold medalist Aleksandr Karelin in the final. I was walking out there saying, Well, Im at least guaranteed a silver medal.". minutes. In just one year, he went through rehabilitation and was back on the mat. Gardner was honored with the 2000 James E. Sullivan Award, the 2000 ESPY for Male Olympic Athlete and the 2000 U.S. Olympic Committee Sportsman of the Year. After the Athens Olympics, Rulon had gained 210 pounds, culminating in total body weight of 474 pounds. Then in 2004, despite coming back from life threatening snowmobile injuries, he managed a Bronze at those Olympics. Rulon's wrestling career began when he was 6 years old. But it was after college that Gardner really came into his own. As of 2023, Rulon Gardner's net worth is $100,000 - $1M. It's about committing to improving yourself every day in every situation.. On Tuesday, Gardner . Email: dgmstaff@nwhof.org, Alan and Gloria Rice Greco - Roman Inductee. Phone: (319) 233-0745 KSL's Alex Cabrero caught up with new Herriman High wrestling coach Rulon Gardner, who wants to teach his students and athletes to be successful -- both on t. He's prepared to hear an encore of the same, along with another reason to doubt the 2000 Olympic gold-medalist: He's too old. All I can do is use the experiences of my life to inject knowledge into our youth, Gardner says in the film. Gardner was honored with the 2000 James E. Sullivan Award, the 2000 ESPY for Male Olympic Athlete and the 2000 U.S. Olympic Committee Sportsman of the Year. Even that might have ended his wrestling career. Biography. He loves working with kids to help them achieve their greatest success. The Olympic Channel original film will premiere digitally on Friday, 2 April 2021 on OlympicChannel.com and the official Olympic Channel apps for mobile and connected TV devices. or Best Offer. Rulon Gardner Won't Die: Directed by Adam Irving. His body temperature dropped down to 80-degrees. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's. Rulon Gardner's comeback bid headlines the U.S. Olympic qualifying meet for wrestlers in Iowa City this weekend. 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. Since then, Rulon has faced multiple life-threatening situations and survived every one through sheer grit and an absolute refusal to quit. In 2010, Rulon was inducted as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved. 51-year-old Rulon Gardner, the U.S. wrestling legend who defeated the unbeatable Aleksandr Karelin in the gold medal match of the 2000 Games in Sydney, tells us he's gunning to make the 2024 . Shelley Osterloh ReportingRulon Gardner is looking to become the first US Greco Roman wrestler to win two gold medals. Rulon Gardner. He was afraid that he would lose both of his feet, but fortunately, he only lost his right toe to amputation. Rulon Gardner cartwheeled into the hearts of all Americans when he upset the seemingly invincible Russian Alexander Karelin at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Years of hard farm work and tussling with his older . He was no slouch. After graduating from the University of Nebraska, Rulon continued his Olympic wrestling pursuit with full-time dedication. I was a good wrestler, but I want to be a better coach than I ever was as a wrestler.. A subreddit for Folkstyle, Freestyle and Greco-Roman Wrestling. However, he had to win a number of matches to get to the Gold medal round. Is this who you want to be to the youth of America?". However, more daunting than what happened on the wrestling mat was what happened in the classroom. If you look at it, my first tournament was the Olympic Festival in 1993 and my second tournament was 1994. All three men in the plan swam for an hour in seven degree-water to reach the shore and spent the night without shelter, but no life-threatening injuries were sustained. In February of 2002 Rulon Gardner spent 18 freezing hours in wet clothes and boots that turned to solid ice when he slipped down a steep canyon into a river with his snowmobile. As he weaves around trucks, zipping up I-15 North through Provo, Utah, he may be the biggest human on . Rulon has experienced wins as well as losses in his life. Two years later he nearly died when he was stranded overnight in sub-degree temperatures on a Wyoming mountainside. Rulon Gardiner shocked the wrestling world in Sydney 2000 when he beat Alexandre Kareline. No holes. National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum, Bob Siddens Iowa High School Coaching Excellence Award, Bob Steenlage Iowa High School Wrestler of the Year, Alan and Gloria Rice Greco - Legacy Award, Alan and Gloria Rice Greco - Leadership Award, George Tragos and Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Inductee. I wore them for an entire summer and 2 full high school wrestling season. They even feature Rulon on a pair of theAggressors known as "Legends", which also feature Dan Gable, Cael Sanderson, and Bruce Baumgartner. Winning the Gold at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 came through extreme dedication and sacrifice. He survived a snowmobile accident and a plane crash, losing a toe in the former and nearly drowning in the latter. Greg@CowboyStateDaily.com. Massive news in the wrestling world as 2000 Olympic Champion and the man who "did the impossible" has announced that he will be making a return to competitive wrestling and target the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Virginia Gardner, Rulon's Mother: "He's always been out to prove himself, that he can do things. His first major accident happened when Gardner was in elementary school, and had his abdomen punctured by an arrow during a show and tell. But what he's attempting now could be his biggest upset yet. Thought I was the only one who found this "victory" lacking. Rulon Gardner. [20], Gardner served as an analyst for NBC Sports coverage of Wrestling at the 2008 Summer Olympics. As of 2011, Gardner worked as a motivational speaker, often appearing as a keynote presenter and event host. [2] Immediately prior to the film's debut at 6:30 p.m. EDT .