Heroes of wrestling return to Ames
By Chris Mackey
Daily Staff Writer
A historic event took place in Ames on Friday night. All five ISU Olympic gold medal wrestlers returned to be honored during a sold-out dinner at The Hotel at Gateway Center on the eve of the World Team Trials that took place at Hilton Coliseum over the weekend.
“It is a historical moment because I don’t think this will happen ever again, “said head wrestling coach Bobby Douglas in a previous interview. “There aren’t many programs that have five living legends. This is a great opportunity to honor the school and to honor the state.”
Scott Casber, the Master of Ceremonies for the evening, called the dinner a celebration of five moments in time.
In the 1948 London Olympic Games, 174-pounder Glen Brand defeated Sweden’s Erik Linden to become Iowa State’s first gold-medal athlete.
In his speech, Brand described in great detail his triumph in London and how he beat one of the Turkish wrestlers, who, until that match, had been defeating other wrestlers left and right.
Twenty-four years later at the 1972 Games in Munich, Iowa State would come away with gold from two wrestlers.
Dan Gable, 149.5 pounds, won every match in the ’72 Olympics without surrendering a single point.
He was inducted into the USA Hall of Fame in 1980 and then the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame five years later.
At 198 pounds, Ben Peterson also claimed gold in Munich. Four years later in Montreal, he came away with a silver medal, making him Iowa State’s only wrestler to earn two Olympic medals. He is also one of only four Americans to earn spots on three different Olympic teams.
His third spot was on the 1980 team bound for Moscow, but the United States boycotted the games.
“I consider this a very special privilege to be here, “Peterson said.
In his speech, Peterson said he was envious of the ISU wrestlers when they returned from some competition and were being celebrated.
“These were average men who learned to work very hard, “he said. “And I wanted to be one of those men before I left.”
Kevin Jackson transferred to Iowa State from Louisiana State before the start of his senior season after the university cut the wrestling program.
His transfer helped the Cyclones win the NCAA Championship in 1987.
It was his gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Games, however, and two more at the World Championships that would give him prominence as a Cyclone wrestler. He is also one of only five U.S. wrestlers to claim three career world-level titles.
“I wanted to beat Iowa; that’s why I came here, “Jackson said. “Although I lost, the team won.”
Iowa State’s most recent gold medalist, Cael Sanderson, finished his career as a Cyclone wrestler in 2004 at the Athens Games after graduating with a perfect record of 159-0, the only undefeated four-time NCAA champion in collegiate wrestling history.
Sanderson also won three straight Dan Hodge Trophies while a Cyclone, signifying him as the nation’s best collegiate wrestler each time.
Since then, Sanderson has returned to Iowa State to help coach the Cyclone wrestlers.
In his speech, Sanderson said the gold medal wrestlers who came before him were a great inspiration.
So, as wrestlers, fans and supporters feasted on steak, chicken and cheesecake, a historic night passed that will never be duplicated.
“This is a great night, “Douglas said.
“It truly is a golden legacy. These are my heroes; these are the heroes of wrestling.”
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