Wayne Wells
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| Birth name | Wayne Alton Wells | ||||||||||||||
| Born | September 29, 1946 (age 77) Abilene, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Wayne Alton Wells (born September 29, 1946 in Abilene, Texas)[1] is an American wrestler and Olympic champion in Freestyle wrestling.
Olympics
Wells competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich where he received a gold medal in Freestyle wrestling in the welterweight class.[2] At the University of Oklahoma, Wayne was a three-time Big Eight champion and a three-time All-American. NCAA runner-up as a junior, he won the championship the following year and went on to earn fourth place in the Olympic Games of 1968. While turning his attention to law school and the foundation of his professional career, Wayne intensified his wrestling efforts. He captured the silver medal in the 1969 World Championships, then returned a year later to win the gold.
He won two national freestyle titles and placed second in the Pan American Games. In the months leading up to the 1972 Olympics he completed his final year of law school, passed the state bar exam, assisted the OU coaching staff and trained five hours a day.
He is a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (1982).[3]
References
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Wayne Wells". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
- ^ "1972 Summer Olympics – München, Germany – Wrestling" Archived September 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. databaseOlympics.com. Retrieved September 13, 2008.
- ^ http://nwhof.org/stillwater/hall-of-fame/#type=hof&honoree=55
External links
- Wayne Wells at the International Wrestling Database
- Wayne Wells at Olympedia
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- 1946 births
- Living people
- Olympic wrestlers of the United States
- Wrestlers at the 1968 Summer Olympics
- Wrestlers at the 1972 Summer Olympics
- American male sport wrestlers
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States in wrestling
- Oklahoma Sooners wrestlers
- Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics
- Pan American Games medalists in wrestling
- Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States
- Wrestlers at the 1971 Pan American Games
- American Olympic medalist stubs
- American sport wrestler stubs