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    Former Iowa wrestler is NBC's 'biggest loser'

    CEDAR RAPIDS (AP) -- A Marion man is now known as "the biggest loser" -- and he's proud of it.

    Matt Hoover, 28, was awarded the title this week in Cedar Rapids during a live season finale of NBC's popular weight-loss series "The Biggest Loser."

    Hoover, who described himself as a top-notch athlete before ballooning to 340 pounds, lost 157 pounds on the show. It took several months of careful eating and training, but Hoover said the pain was well worth it.

    "Probably more important than the weight I lost was finding out who I was again and I didn't have to settle for the life I was leading, being lazy, stuck in a rut," he said.

    On his audition tape, Hoover said his big dream was to lose big and return to the form of his old days as a champion wrestler at the University of Iowa.

    "I haven't always been big," he said. "In college, I wrestled 177 and 190 pounds. I was an elite athlete. I once had potential, you know, possibly being an Olympian, and now I'm 340 pounds and could hardly walk up a set of stairs."

    Hoover said he got lazy. He quit working out, and started eating and drinking more than ever.

    Friends who gathered in Cedar Rapids to watch him compete in the season finale say the new Hoover looks "awesome" and has already motivated them into more active lifestyles.

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