Founded in 1999, the tournament honors the late Dave Schultz, an Olympic and World champion wrestler from the United States, who was one of the most popular wrestlers in world and recognized as an international ambassador for the sport.
The tournament was created by USA Wrestling and the Dave Schultz Wrestling Foundation as a way to honor one of the legends of American wrestling and to welcome international wrestling delegations to our nation for competition and friendship.
"We feel there is no better way to honor the legendary Dave Schultz than to host an international event in his honor. This will mark the 20th time that wrestlers from around the world have assembled to compete in the name of one of the all-time greats. We have been blessed to partner with Nancy Schultz and the entire Schultz family to help recognize the lasting impact that Dave Schultz has had on the sport worldwide," said USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender.
Dozens of nations from all round the world have traveled to Colorado Springs for two decades to compete in the three Olympic wrestling disciplines, men's freestyle, women's freestyle and Greco-Roman.
This has become one of the major sports competitions held annually in Colorado Springs, Colo., which is recognized as Olympic City USA. In past years, the Dave Schultz Memorial International has been in late January or early February. The change in the scheduling date for the tournament is intended to help strengthen and grow the tournament as it moves into its third decade.
The first Dave Schultz Memorial International was held in 1999 at the U.S. Army base Fort Carson, which is located south of Colorado Springs. In 2000, the event was moved to the U.S. Olympic Training Center, where it has been held ever since.
Numerous Olympic and World champions and medalists from many nations have participated in the tournament and have made it one of the most respected competitions on the international wrestling schedule. Among the Olympic wrestling champions from the United States who have competed in the Dave Schultz Memorial International have been Brandon Slay, Rulon Gardner, Jordan Burroughs and Helen Maroulis.
The final schedule for the Dave Schultz Memorial International has not yet been set, and will be announced once the new format for international wrestling competitions has been finalized. This year, there is expected to be four days of competition.
USA Wrestling will be releasing numerous features about the history of the Dave Schultz Memorial International in the weeks leading up to this year's historic event. Other activities which will celebrate the tournament and the life of Dave Schultz will be part of the celebration of the 20th edition of this respected competition.
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