Bruce Baumgartner
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's wrestling | ||
Competitor for the  United States |
||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Gold | 1984 Los Angeles | Freestyle (130 kg) |
| Gold | 1992 Barcelona | Freestyle (130 kg) |
| Silver | 1988 Seoul | Freestyle (130 kg) |
| Bronze | 1996 Atlanta | Freestyle (130 kg) |
| World Championships | ||
| Gold | 1986 Budapest | 130 kg |
| Gold | 1993 Toronto | 130 kg |
| Gold | 1995 Atlanta | 130 kg |
| Silver | 1989 Martigny | 130 kg |
| Silver | 1990 Tokyo | 130 kg |
| Silver | 1994 Istanbul | 130 kg |
| Bronze | 1983 Kiev | +100 kg |
| Bronze | 1985 Budapest | 130 kg |
| Bronze | 1987 Clermont-Ferrand | 130 kg |
| Pan American Games | ||
| Gold | 1987 Indianapolis | Freestyle (130 kg) |
| Gold | 1991 Havana | Freestyle (130 kg) |
| Gold | 1995 Mar de Plata | Freestyle (130 kg) |
| Silver | 1983 Caracas | Freestyle (130 kg) |
Bruce Robert Baumgartner (born November 2, 1960, in Haledon, New Jersey) is a retired American amateur wrestler and current Director of Athletics for the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.
He is unquestionably the most decorated American wrestler of all time, winning 4 Olympic Medals (2-Gold, 1-Silver, 1-Bronze), 9 World Championship Medals (3-Gold, 3-Silver, 3-Bronze) and 4 Pan-American Medals (3-Gold, 1-Silver,); he has also won 12 World Cup Medals (7-Gold, 5-Silver), an NCAA title (and 2 Runner-Up finishes), 4 Olympic Festival titles, 2 AAU National titles and a Junior National title.
During High school, Baumgartner excelled on the wrestling team, going 23-0, but was defeated in the NJ State Championship match. During the off-season he threw shot put and discus on the track team, setting several records in the shot put. Baumgartner is a four-time Olympian and owns four Olympic Medals: two gold, one silver and one bronze. He holds a Bachelors degree in education from Indiana State University in Terre Haute, IN where he competed collegiately for 4 years. He frequently worked out alongside Kurt Thomas, the Olympic Gymnast. During his collegiate career he finished runner-up at Nationals his sophomore and junior years, and was the 1982 National Champion his senior year completing an undefeated season of 44-0. His collegiate record was 134-12 with 73 falls. In 1995, he was presented the James E. Sullivan Award by the Amateur Athletic Union as the outstanding amateur athlete in the U.S. He was sponsored through the New York Athletic Club. Baumgartner attended Manchester Regional High School in Haledon, New Jersey.[1]
Bruce Baumgartner ranked as one of the top super-heavyweight freestyle wrestlers for more than a decade. Winning his first World Championship medal, a bronze, in 1983; he won the World Championship in Los Angeles. He confirmed his status with the Communist Bloc (Eastern European) wrestlers by winning in 1986, clinching his first of his three world titles.
In his second Olympic final in Seoul, he took silver, behind Georgian Davit Gobejishvili. Four years later, in 1992, he won the rematch in Barcelona, en route to a second Olympic gold. After winning world titles in 1993 and 1995, Baumgartner was favored to win his third gold in Atlanta, but a loss to Russian Andrey Shumilin left him with a bronze medal.
Championships [edit]
In addition to his World (3) and Olympic titles (2), Baumgartner amassed three golds at the Pan American Games, 17 American titles and eight World Cup wins. An NCAA National Championship, 2, NCAA Runner-Up finishes, 2 AAU National Titles and a Junior National title.
In 1998, Baumgartner was inducted into the Indiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame; in 2003, the Missouri Valley Conference named him an 'Institutional Great' and inducted him into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame. In 2008, Baumgartner was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. Inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2002 and the International Wrestling Federation Hall of Fame (FILA) in 2003.
References [edit]
- ^ Bruce Baumgartner profile, The Washington Post, accessed April 26, 2007.
External links [edit]
| Olympic Games | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Francie Larrieu-Smith |
Flagbearer for United States Atlanta 1996 |
Succeeded by Cliff Meidl |
| Preceded by Par J. Arvidsson Rowdy Gaines Oliver Luck Kenneth W. Sims Lynette Woodard |
NCAA Top Five Award Class of 1983 Bruce Baumgartner John Elway Richard J. Giusto Charles F. Kiraly David R. Rimington |
Succeeded by John E. Frank Beth Heiden Terrell L. Hoage Stefan G. Humphries Steve Young |
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- 1960 births
- Living people
- American sport wrestlers
- Indiana State University alumni
- Wrestlers at the 1984 Summer Olympics
- Wrestlers at the 1988 Summer Olympics
- Wrestlers at the 1992 Summer Olympics
- Wrestlers at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Olympic wrestlers of the United States
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States
- Olympic silver medalists for the United States
- Olympic bronze medalists for the United States
- People from Passaic County, New Jersey
- Olympic medalists in wrestling
