Rulons office handles the gamut of insurance types, and hes become well-versed in life, health, property, casualty, home and auto. He wants to convince every college recruiter to give his kids a shot, and a head start on the rest of their lives. You may have heard of me He obliges every request until hes the last one in the room, packs up his suitcase with his unsold merchandise and heads out the door. Gardner won a bronze medal at the 2004 Games. They share a big hug and run into the tunnel, into the basement level of the arena, to go celebrate. In January 2011, he was announced as a contestant on season 11 of the American reality television show, The Biggest Loser. Its like hes sitting in the strongman booth at a carnival and they want to document his strength. He has a torch from the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, which he got to carry right before his snowmobile accident. That's all because of Rulon, right there, he said. Wrestling has taken Gardner to 44 countries. 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. Herriman High has back-to-back state champs. At one point, he became separated from the group. As a member of the 2000 US Olympic wrestling team, Rulon was pitted against Russian legend Alexander Karelin, in what can only be described as a David versus Goliath scenario. After 16 weeks on the show, Gardner had lost 173 pounds! It's been 20 years since Gardner, a 2,000-to-1 underdog, beat three-time gold medalist. Gardners life in the public eye has been a twisting journey of highs and lows. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life, he says. He remembers coming home to the Wyoming state tournament shortly after he won Olympic gold, when his mere presence was too much of a disruption. He says one day he took a trash can up to the curb, nobody ever came to pick it up, and two days later a neighbor dragged it back in. When youre famous, he says matter-of-factly, people just give you stuff.. After several hours in his makeshift shelter, he stopped shivering, which led him to believe that he was dying. Rulon Gardner Biography | Official Site of Rulon Gardner [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 says Harper told him, I waited my whole career for you. He was an All-State selection in both football and wrestling, and was also the 1989 Wyoming wrestling state heavyweight champion. He briefly loses his lead, then pulls back ahead and coasts through the final period to a state championship. You want me to do a clinic for free? 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. The Official Site of Rulon Gardner - Wrestler & Olympic Gold Medalist Rulon Gardner The Man Who Never Quits Rulon has experienced wins as well as losses in his life. On the posters, Rulon is frozen in time, even as those days move further in the rearview. In 2007, Gardner survived a plane crash by swimming for more than an hour in 44-degree water. He had to leave and go to a nearby mall to accommodate all the people who wanted to talk to him and get autographs. 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. That one stung. He talks to the teammates wholl be there as spectators about letting that experience motivate them for next year. They dont need him there. But hes been working with a new trainer and says hes dropped almost 40 pounds since late last winter when the high school wrestling season ended. There are rows of pull-up bars and headshots of wrestlers whove qualified for the Utah state tournament in years past. Hundreds of wrestlers are running around, stretching or sparring to warm up. And the next year, he won a world championship. Back down from the podium, Herrimans state champions pose in every combination for their own photos, iPhone camera rolls filling up with teammates, parents, siblings and coaches in various groupings. He didn't even start wrestling until his freshman year of high school and became a state champ his senior year. [1] In 2010, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member. Rulon, in his life, has collected medals upon medals, each one from high school through college saved in Ziploc bags in his home to prove it. Rulon Gardner Won't Die: Directed by Adam Irving. Not even after his failed 2012 Olympic attempt. Gardner served as an analyst for NBC Sports coverage of Wrestling at the 2008 Summer Olympics. 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. 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. Rulon wears many hats and maintains several revenue streams, but from the Got Milk? posters at his speaking engagements to the business cards with his Olympic photo on them, part of his appeal is still simply being Rulon Gardner. 2023 US Wrestling Open Championship : r/wrestling - Reddit Gardner is known for his defeat of Aleksandr Karelin at the 2000 Summer Olympics. And thats the story that he stuck to for nine years. Thats awesome, she said. Olympic Gold Medalist, Survivor, Motivational Speaker. He said, Ill call you tomorrow, Rulon says. As each finals match starts, an announcer over the loudspeaker introduces both wrestlers, along with their hometowns, season records, past accomplishments on the mat, parents names and GPAs. Currently Gardner is missing a tooth, the incisor to the right of his two front teeth. [24], 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. Rulon Ellis Gardner (born August 16, 1971) is an American retired Greco-Roman wrestler. He thinks about his journey the past 20 years. Oh. Welcome back? Rulon chuckled, after hed left, and he made a face that said: Busted. Despite sealing victory and a healthy paycheck as the underdog, Gardner decided to finish his MMA career then and there, as the sport didnt carry the same honour for him as wrestling. Gardner is strong enough to handle the steering wheel with two thick fingers and a thumb. Rulon and his wife live in Logan, Utah, where he runs a gym with Pope. 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. That would be impossible. Welcome back, a man on the waitstaff said, as Rulon made his way to a table. Gardner, trained by Randy Couture at Team Quest, won the bout via unanimous decision. He deserves all the accolades that he has.. Fighting chance. In one photo, egged on by the people around him, Rulon grabs both state champs in playful headlocks, one under each arm. The work continues for the former heavyweight champion of the world. After several hours in his makeshift shelter, he stopped shivering and started having visions, which led him to believe that he was probably dying. 'Mom didn't raise no killing machine': Olympic gold medalist Rulon Officially, Rulon is coaching four kids at States. They look at the picture and Rulon says, Now you tell them, if you dont hit your numbers this month, you know whos coming around. High school wrestling coaches ask Rulon to look into their camera phones and deliver motivational speeches for their teams. The state tournament is an all-day affair on both Wednesday and Thursday, and JRI has no issue with him logging those hours at the arena. Rulon says he and Harper spoke in one of the shows vans for an hour and a half after he announced his exit. Jack has his head down, arms grabbing the trusses along the side of the metal bleachers. They spent the night in freezing temperatures with no fire or shelter. His first wife is believed to be Zola. But behind the scenes, he says it was miserable. After a first interview in Salt Lake City and a second-round tryout in California, they were all set. Rulon Ellis Gardner (born August 16, 1971) is an American retired Greco-Roman Olympic Gold Medalist wrestler. She presented a business plan that looked solid. Share Twenty years ago at the Sydney Olympics, Greco-Roman wrestler Rulon Gardner pulled off one of the biggest upsets in sports history. On the playground, he was the biggest, slowest kid. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. When he was an active athlete, he never took a day off. In the second period, Traycee connects on a headlock and sends his opponent to his back. Rulon plays the Dont you know who I am? cardbut, seriously, dont you know who he is? Rulon is new to the neighborhood, though really his home is more farm community than neighborhood, with horses running through penned-in yards along his drive to the office. Rulon's weight has fluctuated again since then, but has most recently lost 30lbs (13kg), thanks to his new personal trainer and cutting refined sugars and processed food out from his diet. I was offered millions by the WWE to compete for them and I turned it down, Gardner said. Thats good news. Now, his dark gray, short-sleeve button-down shirt dangles over his belly and hangs out in front of him, unlike the singlets that cling to his body in both the poster and on the book cover. He defeated Russian Aleksandr Karelin in the 2000 Olympic heavyweight final in Sydney, handing Karelin his first loss in 13 years. Rulon Gardner - Popular Bio He played the part. Rulon calls Moses brother, though he calls a lot of people brother. Rulon Gardner is crammed into the driver's seat of a 2006 Volkswagen Beetle. There was an incident in New Zealand, when contestants had just returned to the show after a holiday break, and he needed a chiropractor. Rulon Gardner dated my daughter's roommate - ex-Mormon The 51-year-old will wrestle in the senior Greco-Roman tournament at 130 kg. June 03, 2002 Feet First After a snowmobile mishap left him ravaged by frostbite and cost him a toe, Olympic heavyweight Rulon Gardner is taking his comeback one step at a time E.M. He is quiet but he holds peoples attention when hes talking to them. 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. In 2001, Gardner added a world championship to his list of accomplishments with a victory in the finals over Mihaly Deak-Bardos of Hungary. He loves working with kids to help them achieve their greatest success. I need to stop saying it and start doing it. He wouldnt have his gold medal without it. His practice room simply cant have the same intensity as the ones at USA Wrestling or the University of Nebraska. He apologizes to the room for his hoarse voice, which he blames on his coaching.
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