Rulon Gardner's nine lives

Rulon Gardner, the champion Olympic wrestler from Wyoming, via the University of Nebraska, has been compared to a wild jungle cat. Beyond the obvious reference to his strength and quickness, Gardner tends to be a loner, difficult to tame, ferocious when cornered, and like the proverbial cat, seems to have nine lives.

Gardner was born in Afton, Wyoming, in 1971, the youngest of nine children of a Mormon family. He attributes his strength to the physical chores he did working on the family dairy farm, and his love of wrestling and his wrestling skills to the continual spirited workouts with his brother.

Rulon suffered from a learning disability. School was difficult and preparations for his lessons were very time consuming. He attributes his overcoming the learning disability, and getting his degree from the University of Nebraska as an accomplishment on a par to his winning the Olympic gold medal.

In high school, Gardner was a three-sport athlete, excelling in wrestling, track and field, and football. He earned All-State honors in both wrestling and football in his senior year, and was the state heavyweight wrestling champion in 1989. Upon graduation from high school, Gardner accepted a wrestling scholarship to Ricks Junior College, Utah, where he won the NJCAA heavyweight championship as a sophomore.

After his two years at the Junior College, Rulon Gardner accepted a wrestling scholarship to the University of Nebraska. Again he was successful, wrestling in the 275 pound weight class, earning All-American honors by finishing fourth in his weight class at the NCAA Championships in 1993.

No doubt Gardner's greatest wrestling triumph came at the 2000 Summer Olympics at Sydney, Australia.

Gardner had been prevented from going to the 1996 Olympic Games when he came down with a staph infection shortly before the Olympic Trials. In Sydney, he faced a championship bout with the Russian champion, Alexander Karelin. Karelin was considered something of a superman in the field of Greco-Roman Wrestling. He had won three Olympic Gold Medals. He was undefeated for 13 years, and had not allowed a point to be scored against him in the last six years. Even today he is considered the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of all time.

Gardner was considered a tremendous underdog to Karelin in Sydney. In international competition in 1997 Karelin had easily defeated Gardner, yet that day Rulon matched the "Russian Bear" at every turn, and at the end of the match the announcer was asking (referring to the USA Hockey team defeating the Soviets in 1980), "Do you believe in miracles, again? When Gardner was finally pronounced the winner, the match was referred to as "The Miracle on the Mat," as the hockey game had been referred to as "The Miracle on Ice" 20 years earlier.

Gardner's success in Sydney was followed by a world championship the next year in 1981, making Gardner the only American to win both an Olympic gold medal and a world title in Greco-Roman wrestling. He added a victory in the Mixed Martial Arts Championships with a victory over Olympic judo champ, Hidehiko Yoshida.

In 2004 Gardner's bid to repeat his 2000 triumph was thwarted, but he still ended up winning the bronze medal. His efforts may have been hampered by another in the continuing series of tragedies that seem to follow Rulon Gardner through life.

As a youth in grade school, Rulon was impaled by an arrow, in a freak accident during a session of "show and tell" at the school. Fortunately, the arrow narrowly missed his vital organs.

In 2002, Gardner was snowmobiling with a group of friends at the 11,000 feet altitude in the mountains of Wyoming. Somehow he lost contact with his friends and hurtled off an embankment into the freezing Salt River. He managed to make it to the shore, where he made a crude shelter. 18 hours later a rescue party found him, still alive, but suffering from hypothermia and severe frost bite. His boot had to be cut off with a saw, and his middle toe on his right foot had to be amputated. (Gardner keeps that toe, preserved in formaldehyde, in his refrigerator, to remind him of his fragile mortality.)

In early 2004, Gardner, on his motorcycle, was hit by an automobile. He suffered minor wounds and a dislocated wrist, but was able to take part in the Olympic Tryouts.

At the 2004 Olympics, after his bronze match, Gardner left his wrestling shoes on the mat, the sign that this was his last competitive match.

Close brushes with death have continued to plague Gardner. In 2007, Rulon and two companions survived the crash of their small plane into Lake Powell in Utah. The three were forced to swim (in 44-degree water) two hours to reach shore, and then spent the night without shelter. Amazingly, none of the three sustained lasting injuries.

As bad as these brushes with fate were, in retirement, Gardner probably came closest to an early death. After the hoopla of the Olympics passed, Gardner decided on a more sedentary life With his fourth wife, he opened a gym/training center in Logan, Utah, and embarked upon a career as a motivational speaker. He gained weight. Speaking gigs became rarer. He gained more weight, until in 2010 he had become "Rulon the Blob," tipping the scales at some 475 pounds, more than 200 pounds over his Olympic wrestling weight. The once- mighty athlete could not walk half a block without becoming winded.

It was at this time that a friend persuaded Gardner to apply for a spot on the NBC Reality Show, "The Biggest Loser."

He was accepted as a contestant, and started his weight loss program with trainers in January of 2011.

It was interesting to see Gardner's progress as the show continued week after week. Rulon was one of the consistent losers, and in late April was one of the favorites to be "The Biggest Loser," with its $250,000 prize, having lost a total of 188 pounds, an average of 15 pounds per week..

But Rulon Gardner, the man of surprises, startled everyone on the Biggest Loser show that aired April 26th. At the weigh-in he abruptly announced that he was leaving the show, for "personal" reasons -- the first one ever to voluntarily leave the show.

It is difficult to judge just what is real and what isn't on "Reality" shows, and rumors abound as to just why Garner quit so suddenly.

1. He never did seem to bond, as did others, with the other contestants.

2. He was having marital troubles with his 4th wife.

3. His training center business was in danger of going belly up.

4. He was miffed at losing one of the physical challenges and the chance to have his face on a Wheaties box.

5. He was disqualified for some unknown offense.

6. He had attained his personal goal, got his life back, and was ready to move on. Who knows?

What is known is that after a brief stay at home in Logan, he appeared at the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs, giving rise to the rumor that Gardner is attempting a comeback into competitive wrestling -- at age 40.

Whatever happens, we can only wish him well, and hope that he has not yet used up his allotted nine lives.

Source: NU Sports/ Wrestling, Deseret News, Made in Wyoming (Legacy of Success)