Jump to content
  • Playwire Ad Area



  • Photo:

    Photo:

    Which states, schools can claim most Olympic gold medalists?

    As frigid winter weather descends on much of North America and wrestling season kicks into high gear, some warm thoughts concerning the sport from this past summer ...

    Just four months ago, two wrestlers -- Helen Maroulis, and Kyle Snyder -- won gold medals at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, becoming the 49th and 50th U.S. athletes to win gold medals in Olympic freestyle wrestling.

    A reader recently asked -- which states can claim the most of these gold-medal-winning Olympic wrestlers?

    This information is not as readily available as one might hope ... especially for wrestlers from the early 20th century. That said, here's a list of the gold medalists, their birthplace, and what colleges/universities they attended:

    1904 -- St. Louis
  • Robert Curry -- light flyweight: New York City
  • George Mehnert -- flyweight: Newark, New Jersey
  • Isador Niflot -- bantamweight: Russia
  • Benjamin Bradshaw -- featherweight: New York City
  • Otto Roehm -- lightweight: Canada
  • Charles Ericksen -- welterweight: Norway
  • Bernhoff Hanson -- heavyweight: Norway

    1908 -- London
  • George Mehnert -- bantamweight: Newark, New Jersey
  • George Dole -- featherweight: Ypsilanti, Michigan

    1912-1918
  • (No Olympic freestyle wrestling)

    1920 -- Antwerp
  • Charles Ackerly -- featherweight: Cuba, New York

    1924 -- Paris
  • Robin Reed -- featherweight: Pettigrew, Arkansas/Oregon State
  • Russell Vis -- lightweight: Grand Rapids, Michigan
  • John Spellman -- light-heavyweight: Middletown, Connecticut/Brown University
  • Harry Steel -- heavyweight: East Sparta, Ohio/Ohio State

    1928 -- Amsterdam
  • Allie Morrison -- featherweight: Marshalltown, Iowa/University of Illinois

    1932 -- Los Angeles
  • Bobby Pearce -- bantamweight: Cushing, Oklahoma/Oklahoma State
  • Jack VanBebber -- welterweight: Perry, Oklahoma/Oklahoma State
  • Peter Mehringer -- light heavyweight: Kinsley, Kansas/University of Kansas

    1936 -- Berlin
  • Frank Lewis -- welterweight: Cushing, Oklahoma/Oklahoma State

    1948 -- London
  • Glen Brand -- middleweight: Clarion, Iowa/Iowa State
  • Henry Wittenberg -- light heavyweight: Jersey City, New Jersey/City College of New York

    1952 -- Helsinki
  • Bill Smith -- welterweight: Portland, Oregon/University of Northern Iowa

    1956 -- Melbourne
  • (No gold medals for U.S. freestyle wrestlers)

    1960 -- Rome
  • Terry McCann -- bantamweight: Chicago, Illinois/University of Iowa
  • Shelby Wilson -- lightweight: Ponca City, Oklahoma/Oklahoma State
  • Doug Blubaugh -- welterweight: Ponca City, Oklahoma/Oklahoma State

    1964 -- Tokyo
  • (No gold medals for U.S. freestyle wrestlers)

    1968 -- Mexico City
  • (No gold medals for U.S. freestyle wrestlers)

    1972 -- Munich
  • Dan Gable -- lightweight: Waterloo, Iowa/Iowa State
  • Wayne Wells -- welterweight: Abilene, Texas/University of Oklahoma
  • Ben Peterson -- light heavyweight: Barron County, Wisconsin/Iowa State

    1976 -- Montreal
  • John Peterson -- middleweight: Cumberland, Wisconsin/University of Wisconsin-Stout

    1984 -- Los Angeles
  • Bobby Weaver -- light flyweight: Easton, Pennsylvania/Lehigh
  • Randy Lewis -- featherweight: Rapid City, South Dakota/University of Iowa
  • Dave Schultz -- welterweight: Palo Alto, California/Oklahoma State, University of Oklahoma
  • Mark Schultz -- middleweight: Palo Alto, California/UCLA, University of Oklahoma
  • Ed Banach -- light heavyweight: Sussex County, New Jersey/University of Iowa
  • Lou Banach -- heavyweight: Sussex County, New Jersey/University of Iowa
  • Bruce Baumgartner -- superheavyweight: Haledon, New Jersey/Indiana State

    John Smith
    1988 -- Seoul
  • John Smith -- featherweight: Midwest City, Oklahoma/Oklahoma State
  • Kenny Monday -- welterweight: Tulsa, Oklahoma/Oklahoma State

    1992 -- Barcelona
  • John Smith -- featherweight: Midwest City, Oklahoma/Oklahoma State
  • Kevin Jackson -- middleweight: Highland Falls, New York/Iowa State
  • Bruce Baumgartner -- superheavyweight: Haledon, New Jersey/Indiana State

    1996 -- Atlanta
  • Kendall Cross -- bantamweight: Hardin, Montana/Oklahoma State
  • Tom Brands -- featherweight: Omaha, Nebraska/University of Iowa
  • Kurt Angle -- heavyweight: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania/Clarion University

    2000 -- Sydney
  • Brandon Slay -- welterweight: Amarillo, Texas/University of Pennsylvania

    2004 -- Athens
  • Cael Sanderson -- middleweight: Salt Lake City, Utah/Iowa State

    2008 -- Beijing
  • Henry Cejudo -- bantamweight: Los Angeles

    2012 -- London
  • Jordan Burroughs -- welterweight: Camden, New Jersey/University of Nebraska
  • Jake Varner -- heavyweight: Bakersfield, California/Iowa State

    2016 -- Rio de Janeiro
  • Helen Maroulis -- 53 kilograms: Rockville, Maryland/Missouri Baptist University, Simon Fraser University
  • Kyle Snyder -- heavyweight: Woodbine, Maryland/Ohio State

    So ... which states can claim to be the home to the most U.S. Olympic freestyle gold medal-winning wrestlers? By this writer's count, 20 states can claim to be the birthplace of gold medalists ... with Oklahoma being home to seven, followed by New Jersey with six, and California and New York each with four.

    Which schools have produced the most Olympic freestyle gold? Oklahoma State has nine wrestlers who won gold medals on the mat, while Iowa State has six.

    UPDATE: Readers, please note: I'm aware that there are some wrestlers who may have been born in one state but are thought of with another. (Prime example: No one thinks of Robin Reed = Arkansas, even though that's where he was born; the wrestling community of Oregon thinks of Reed as theirs.) To be consistent, I focused on BIRTHPLACE, rather than "where he grew up" because birth location info is more readily available. This is not to slight anyone or any state's wrestling heritage. -- Mark
  • User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    There are no comments to display.



    Create an account or sign in to comment

    You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

    Create an account

    Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

    Register a new account

    Sign in

    Already have an account? Sign in here.

    Sign In Now

  • Playwire Ad Area
×
×
  • Create New...