Rulon doesnt like wearing his badge on a lanyard that chokes his neck, so he tries to avoid it. 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. Yesterday, Russia's Alexander Karelin, the undisputed, undefeated 286-pound super-heavyweight champion of the Greco-Roman wrestling world, ran smack into a side of Wyoming beef, Rulon Gardner . The family traces its roots to the earliest settlers of Star Valley. Its the last official day of the season, but Rulon says now the work really starts. From the Wyoming farm where he grew up the youngest of nine siblings, through his struggles as a student with dyslexia, all the way to the Olympic medal stand, to his night on the mountain and back to the Olympic podium. He tells everyone to put their hands in. "So I asked myself, 'Why am I doing this?' Herriman High has back-to-back state champs. I wanted to be a better teacher than a wrestler.". My voice is a little scraggly because I care, he tells them, to some polite chuckles. At the 2000 Olympics, Wyoming native Rulon Gardner shattered global expectations on the wrestling mat. A few months later, Rulon shared that hes been doing well. In the second period, Karelin quickly put his prey in a lock that opponents rarely escaped from. He talks to the teammates wholl be there as spectators about letting that experience motivate them for next year. Four years later, Gardner was the last big man standing in Sydney. In the new Olympic Channel documentary Rulon, the Wyoming native shares his personal journey, from humble roots growing up on a dairy farm to finding fame, and how his resilience helped him to overcome adversity, and multiple near-death experiences. He remained stranded for 18 hours. It may not always be easy, but Rulon has no plans to quit. [21], Gardner attempted a comeback for the 2012 Olympics[22] 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. After graduating from the University of Nebraska, Rulon continued his Olympic wrestling pursuit with full-time dedication. In 2011, he accepted an offer to appear on American reality TV show The Biggest Loser, in an attempt to shed some of his 474lbs (215kg). Curbs can be trouble if hes not watching his landing spot. But he has a tendency to go there and not execute.". At one point, he became separated from the group. As hes unpacked boxes in his new home and found items he barely remembers receiving, some have made it to JRI. It would hurt Rulons reputation if he oversold one of his athletes and they didnt back up his praise. As he weaves around trucks, zipping up I-15 North through Provo, Utah, he may be the biggest human on the highway, packed into one of the tiniest vehicles. Rulon and Rad follow Talmage out to the mat. Since then, Rulon has faced multiple life-threatening situations and survived every one through sheer grit and an absolute refusal to quit. When youre famous, he says matter-of-factly, people just give you stuff.. [20], Gardner served as an analyst for NBC Sports coverage of Wrestling at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Three years later he walked away from a plane crash into Lake Powell with only a minor hip injury and a concussion. At 51 years old, Rulon Gardner height That one stung. The sun began to lower and the temperature, which had been twenty-five degrees, began to drop. In just one year, he went through rehabilitation and was back on the mat. Yoshida, in addition to being an Olympic gold medalist in judo, was a highly successful MMA fighter. Oh. He was raised on a dairy farm in Wyoming, where the family grew crops and milked cows twice a day. Their contingent leaves the mat and the two teammates save their most excited celebration for each other. chants, Gardner fought off Karelin's aggressive attacks in the second period, and in overtime to capture the gold and the hearts of spectators around the world. Since turning his life around financially, hes been able to reclaim most of it, and today is able to show his hard-won Olympic medals to his students. Rulon has never dwelled on the negatives in his life. 2023 ABG-SI LLC. Gold medal winner Rulon Gardner has survived two Olympics, a plane wreck, a broken neck and nearly dying in the Wyoming wilderness. Its a long story. Former athlete goes broke is a common trope, oftentimes the result of overspending or falling down the wrong path. But life moves on. That would be impossible. It opened in November after Gardner spent more than two years trying to . Unable to move any farther, Gardner decided to build a shelter and wait for a rescue team. Search instead in Creative? Consider those client recruitment days anyway, with Coach Rulon happily passing along his fliers to a steady stream of coaches, parents, tournament officials and others eager to chat him up between matches. Rulons experience with The Biggest Loser started just like every other contestants. Rulon still feels his match against Aleksandr Karelin every day. Gardner owns two of them. Its back to Utah, his day job and his team. He is quiet but he holds peoples attention when hes talking to them. Its more of a one-on-two. And whos seen more accidents than Rulon Gardner? Link to: Home Valuation / Home ValuationHome Valuation The client takes a seat facing Rulons desk, and Lydia sits in Rulons chair while he stands behind her. There was plenty of time to do some soul-searching during a long bus ride home. Nine minutes. View popular celebrities life details, birth signs and real ages. The Wyoming native upset Russia's Aleksandr Karelin, who was the reigning three-time Olympic champion and had . Ironically, Gardner's bid for a third Olympic appearance fell short because he was five pounds from making weight during the U.S. trials in April 2012. Its Day 2 of the state tourney. For more information, visit the website linked above. Now hes just one of the coaches. "The gold medal was so far away from what I thought I could do in my life. Gardner is standing along the center line between the rows of mats with an eye on his four guys, who are split into pairs to get loose. Jack has his head down, arms grabbing the trusses along the side of the metal bleachers. For me, it was like, Theyre trusting me to train an Olympic champion? In a normal year, not interrupted by a pandemic, the high school wrestling season runs November to February. With Bob Costas, Katie Couric, Rulon Gardner, Philip Hersh. In January 2011, he was announced as a contestant on season 11 of the American reality television show, The Biggest Loser. Im not gonna just sit down and take whatever happens.. Its a tragedy, Rulon said, fighting back tears as he stood shirtless, addressing his weight in the season premiere. He drew a direct line between what Rulon taught him about good positioning and how he was able to throw his opponent in the finals. He competed at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics and won the gold medal in 2000, defeating Russia's Aleksandr Karelin in the final. As heavier weights, they just have a little more time before their semifinal bouts. All those people who told me I could never get here and get on this stage, Im going to show them. Gardners life in the public eye has been a twisting journey of highs and lows. In track and field, as a senior, he took second at the state finals in the shot put.[14]. Rulon says hes still willing to go out of his way for people he trusts, but he cant fulfill every request. He paid her $24K for the first six months, then $36K for the next three, about a quarter million total. After reaching his competitive training weight, Rulon chose to leave the show in support of his wife and to begin the next chapter of his life. . He pulls into a parking lot surrounded by snow-covered peaks, leaves Gus in the car and steps into the chilly mountain air in his gym shorts. Everyone just wants Rulon to be healthy. That season featured partners competing in tandem. Knowing that he's the guy that's in the practice room every day that I get to learn from it's an amazing experience to have him in my corner.. One, two, three, state titles!. Rulon Gardners income source is mostly from being a successful Wrestler. Rulon doesnt go up the stairs to his seat during the break, opting instead to stay in the holding pen. A bookcase next to the TV houses a plaque commemorating his induction to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame; the prestigious James E. Sullivan Award, given annually to the top amateur athlete in the country; an ESPY for being named 2000s male U.S. Olympian of the year; and other accolades. . He wont have as many days where he works from 8 a.m. until after-school practice and then gets home at 9 p.m. without having worked out himself. He is looking almost straight up at the flag, at attention. Each mat is set up the same. Many of the news headlines written about him since 2012 focused on his bankruptcy filing, the result of a fraud case, and a quest to recoup his gold medal, which he couldnt afford to bring back into his possession. 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 turns the corner and ditches the Velcro brace on his right wrist. @5PtMove. In 2002, Rulon faced a serious life-threatening situation. He thinks about his journey the past 20 years. 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. Theres a curly-headed heavyweight from Fremont High, Weston Warr, whom Rulon has taken a liking to after theyve spoken at a few tournaments throughout the last two seasons. He says Bob wanted to stay in touch and keep helping him live healthier. He played the part. Rulon again captured the attention of America when he appeared as a contestant of the NBC television program The Biggest Loser. Posnanski, Joe (March 21, 2011) "Point After: Losing, and Loving It", "Rulon Gardner and the lonely afterglow of Olympic gold", "Booking Rulon Gardner Speaker Appearances, Rulon Gardner Agent Manager Contact, Hiring Rulon Gardner Speaking Engagements Costs Fees", "The Biggest Loser" Season 11 Finale Recap: A great cast is the ultimate trump card, "Gardner lives to tell of another life-threatening accident Olympics ESPN", "Daugherty: Having embraced wrestling to fullest, Gardner lets go", "Olympian Gardner survives small plane crash (AP report)", "Rulon Gardner to receive Citizenship Through Sports Alliance award for sportsmanship | TheMat.com USA Wrestling", "Aleksandr KARELIN | Olympic Athlete | Atlanta 1996, Barcelona 1992, Seoul 1988, Sydney 2000", "Two-time Olympic wrestling medalist Rulon Gardner undergoes additional surgery on his foot damaged b | TheMat.com USA Wrestling", "Pro-Wrestling Gets 'Real' Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment", "Baltimore Sports News: Sports News, Scores and Schedules baltimoresun.com", "Rulon Gardner considers comeback for 2012 Olympics", "Despite failed comeback, Rulon Gardner is not finished wrestling", "Rulon Gardner MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography", Professional MMA record for Rulon Gardner, Rulon Gardner's page from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum, "Nine minutes: How the Sydney Olympics changed wrestler Rulon Gardner's life", Olympic Champions in Greco-Roman super heavyweight, World Champions in Greco-Roman super heavyweight (130 kg), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rulon_Gardner&oldid=1128334527, Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in wrestling, Olympic gold medalists for the United States in wrestling, Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States, Mixed martial artists utilizing Greco-Roman wrestling, Pan American Games medalists in wrestling, Articles with dead external links from April 2017, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, United States Olympic Committee Sportsman of the Year, 2001, Inducted as a Distinguished Member of the, This page was last edited on 19 December 2022, at 16:04. He is 48 now, sells insurance and has a second job coaching wrestling at a Salt Lake City-area high school. Zahne says he knows about Rulon Gardner's appearance on NBC's 'The Biggest Loser' from his wife, who is a fan of the show. Gardner has a little car and a little traveling companion: Gus. There are two lightweights and two heavyweights, making for convenient practice partners. They spent the night in freezing temperatures with no fire or shelter. Rulon Ellis Gardner (born August 16, 1971) is an American retired Greco-Roman Olympic Gold Medalist wrestler. The Herriman High wrestling room has one regulation-sized circle, and the dark blue mat extends out to light blue padded walls. Gardner is strong enough to handle the steering wheel with two thick fingers and a thumb. On the desk he has nothing but a binder, a notebook and a red Powerade Zero Sugar. Rulon Gardner has lost 150 pounds and is targeting a comeback Credit: INSTAGRAM. Gardner's snowmobile wreck made a lasting impression on him: He reflects on it frequently, and it has cost him feeling in his feet. Theres a circle in the middle where the action takes place, and each wrestler gets one corner with chairs for two coaches. Rulon calls Moses brother, though he calls a lot of people brother. The success I had in wrestling, which I learned on the farm, now I use it in the insurance business and in the wrestling community. The specifics, he says, he really cant get into. He loves working with kids to help them achieve their greatest success. Karelin tried to break Gardner's will quickly. A Golden Opportunity: Olympic gold medalist Rulon Gardner visits Elko., Ramsey, David. Rulon Gardner of Star Valley, Wyo.,defeats Russia Aleksandr Karelin to win the gold medal in Greco-Roman Wrestling at the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. And thats the story that he stuck to for nine years. Rulon draws on his own experience, knowing what made the best preparation for him before countless tournaments at the highest possible levels. Herrimans lightest wrestler, Jack Lounsbury, is up first. Hes printed off an endless supply of 5-by-8" photos on glossy paperon one side, the Olympic referee is raising a triumphant Gardners hand as the defeated Russian Karelin is scowling with a hand on his hip. Read more of SI's Daily Cover stories here. But Gardner certainly isnt most athletes, and approached his Olympic final believing that second-place would be a satisfactory achievement. He was the first contestant to ever quit the NBC reality TV . On a bitter cold night in February 2002, on mountain slopes above Star Valley, Gardner got separated from some snowmobiling friends and stranded his machine in deep snow. Its horrifying for me and my family.. The Olympics arent this strict, he says, shaking his head. A good friend of Rulons had a nephew whose son wrestled at Herriman, so Gardner came to a practice and offered to help a local club team. The problem: She had been fabricating documents, according to the FBI, including the ones she showed Rulon. The one person that can change it is me.. Rulon Ellis Gardner (born August 16, 1971) is an American retired Greco-Roman Olympic Gold Medalist wrestler. He attributes his strength to the physical labor that he performed growing up and working on the family's dairy farm.[4]. Rulon gave him the medal as collateral, and they made a deal that hed hold onto Rulons prized possession until he could pay the debt. You see people that do amazing things, Rulon said, and they sit back and they think that theyre just gonna keep succeeding because of that. But he knows its not always that easy. With the video paused, Gardner meanders through one of the most improbable sporting stories ever, about a kid who grew up milking cows on a Wyoming farm. Contact us at editor@wyohistory.org for information on levels and types of available sponsorships. She says she has only positive things to say about her experience being on the show in general and working with Rulon in particular. After that its club season until April, followed by tournaments and clinics through the summer, not to mention occasional speaking engagements across the country. Hell be standing there, then suddenly, and violently, whip his neck sideways and then whip it back in the other direction, a tic that offers temporary relief. After 16 weeks on the show, Gardner had lost 173 pounds! You want me to do a clinic for free? Gardner, trained by Randy Couture at Team Quest, won the bout via unanimous decision. Dremiel Byers, the man Gardner trained against at the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs, Colo., suffered a disappointing loss in the 2012 quarterfinals after finally stepping out of Gardner's large shadow. He says that hearing the anthem play, especially in a gym full of wrestlers, always takes him back to that moment atop the podium in Sydneywith Rulon on the top step, and the Russian Bear, incredibly, below. Now he knows better. Unbelievably, that wasn't Rulon's only near-death experience with hypothermia. Castranuova says she thought Rulon would win the whole competition and was shocked when he left. 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. Rulon says one of the images that stands out from that day was in the final second of the match, when both wrestlers knew it was over. Finally, its time. 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. So, how much is Rulon Gardner worth at the age of 51 years old? 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 has awards, trophies and plaques, plus T-shirts signed by fellow Olympians. Rulon began a regular wrestling season while in junior high and continued with the wrestling seasons until he graduated with a degree in physical education from the University of Nebraska. Hes seen countless gyms from his hometown in Wyoming to the University of Nebraska to the USA Wrestling Olympic training center. Trending News. She was 45. Rulon Gardner in 2003 AP A learning disability earned Gardner the nickname "Dumbo." The 125-pound fourth-grader was also called "Fatso." As a senior at Star Valley High School, he won a state. That was just a small dumbbell shy of 500. Until then, you can get a taster of Gardners amazing story below. This is another touchy subject for Rulon, though one he discusses openly. 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. This match ends as abruptly as it begins. With the crowd now engaged and rooting the long shot on with "USA!" I learned how to count calories. There are rows of pull-up bars and headshots of wrestlers whove qualified for the Utah state tournament in years past. Thats the attitude hell never shake. They dont need him there. The two coaches are animated as their wrestler gets on the scoreboard first, both coaches standing throughout the match. It will be the first time Leonard plays for a . In that first match, Karelin slammed Gardner on his face three times and even flipped him feet-first over his head in a violent maneuver that had Gardner's wife, Stacy, fearing for her husband's life. Rulon still looks to his old buddy Dremiel Byers for inspiration. He laments how people saw his name and the word bankruptcy in headlines and assumed the worst. Do you pay other people? He is from . There is one tangible positive in Rulons life as a direct result of his appearance on The Biggest Loser. 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 on The Biggest Loser, hosted by Jillian Michaels. I found it to be really awesome that he was so down to put his trust in a female thats a quarter of his size and let me teach him boxing form, and that he took me seriously.. After the speech he heads back to the hallway and opens one of his suitcases, which is stuffed with copies of his book and posters from the old Got Milk? ad campaign that show him holding two full pails in front of a dairy cow. We have estimated His two lightweights are both eliminated on Day 1 but the two heavier weights, Talmage Carman and Traycee Norman, win two matches apiece. He gives the impression that hed recall the date even if Valentines Day werent an easy one to remember. Some of the unwelcome nicknames given to him included Dumbo, and later Fatso due to his size. Rulon's wrestling career began when he was six years old. He is a member of famous Wrestler with the age 51 years old group. Youre the coolest, Moses tells him, as they both delight in the excuse to catch up and reminisce about their time on the show. Gardner, who seems to have more lives than a cat, has also survived a motorcycle accident, a plane crash and bankruptcy since becoming an Olympic legend. . But I can't do it 50%. School was a struggle for Rulon due to a learning disability. He has a tradition every year on the anniversary where he watches the time pass and reflects on what he was doing, hour-by-hour, on that fateful night. Of course, he says. Leaving the show early, Gardner caused some controversy. Rulon Gardner caused one of the greatest upsets in Olympic wrestling history when he won gold at Olympic Games Sydney 2000. He says some, many of whom gain back considerable weight after they leave the show, feel the experience ruined their lives. He is the son of Reed and Virginia Gardner and the last of nine children. Its the second week of February and Coach Gardnerhis kids just call him Rulonhas four high-schoolers in the Utah 6A State Championships. He travelled over 9,000km to Japan to take on judo Olympic gold medallist Hidehiko Yoshida. Wrestler Survives Frozen Night. The Associated Press, Feb. 19, 2002. He bought a house nearby, so his only long commute is up I-15 to the high school. At the time, Rulon and his then wife were operating a gym in Logan, Utah, and Justin was an investor. He said, Ill call you tomorrow, Rulon says. In 2007, Rulon and two friends crashed a lightweight aircraft into Lake Powell, Utah. "I was razzed the whole way home," Gardner told the Elko (Nev.) Daily Free Press after conducting a wrestling clinic for kids in December 2012. 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. They grew close during the show, expressed mutual love for each other as they hugged goodbye in Rulons final scene and spoke a few times in the years that followed. But wrestling was the route Rulon decided to focus on. My parrot, Gardner jokes. Maybe it confused him. One of the Greco-Roman grapplers lowest moments came in 2012, when he filed for bankruptcy. To put it in perspective, Rulon Gardner was a first-timer at the Olympics that year. In episode 16, he was bungee jumping over New Zealands Milford Sound, espousing the importance of winning immunity to remain on the show. 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