That would be impossible. Martinez is a Utahn and three-time NCAA qualifier at Clarion in Pennsylvania who also went 153 as a pro martial arts fighter. He gives the impression that hed recall the date even if Valentines Day werent an easy one to remember. In one photo, egged on by the people around him, Rulon grabs both state champs in playful headlocks, one under each arm. He now shuttles between the Olympic Training Center and his home in Logan, Utah, where, after a bank loan fell through in . Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Hell be standing there, then suddenly, and violently, whip his neck sideways and then whip it back in the other direction, a tic that offers temporary relief. He was an All-State selection in both football and wrestling, and was also the 1989 wrestling state heavyweight champion. They grew close during the show, expressed mutual love for each other as they hugged goodbye in Rulons final scene and spoke a few times in the years that followed. At points, there were times I thought, You know what, just give up. She showed him real estate purchase agreements, contracts and more. Earning back all the goodwill his initial rise to fame afforded him. But Rulon has lived 49 years now, and not all have been as kind as that brief stretch after he became famous overnight, going from total unknown to Leno and Conan guest in a span of 10 days. Read more of SI's Daily Cover stories here. Someday the book will come out, Gardner says. With the help of some business mentors, Gardner is living a more stable life selling insurance, is an ambassador for a work-safety app, visits schools and workplaces as a motivational speaker, and stays in touch with his sport as a high school wrestling coach. Today, Gardner has taken the lessons learnt and built a new life for himself. The two coaches are animated as their wrestler gets on the scoreboard first, both coaches standing throughout the match. He talks to every single person that wants to talk to him, and hell sign an autograph for anybody, his assistant coach, Martinez, says. He talks to the teammates wholl be there as spectators about letting that experience motivate them for next year. In 2007, Rulon and two friends crashed a lightweight aircraft into Lake Powell, Utah. Aside from his Olympic medals, his achievements include: Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. . Rulon feels he was treated unfairly. The car has logged a lot of miles, and in some ways come out a little worse for the wear, but it just never seems to quit. The work continues for the former heavyweight champion of the world. And the next year, he won a world championship. Hundreds of wrestlers are running around, stretching or sparring to warm up. Gardner was also irritated by some of the sniping from fellow contestants. Rulon had placed only as high as 5th in the world before 2000. But thats how the story has always gone. However, he had to win a number of matches to get to the Gold medal round. The result of having no feeling in his feet is that sometimes hell miss a step. Through it all, though, he says hes still glad he went on the show. Wrestlers are seeded into 16-man brackets in 14 weight classes, and each round of the tournament starts with the lightest weights and progresses on upward to Rulons old division. He holds up his thumb and index finger a couple inches apart. At 52 years old, Rulon Gardner height Everyone is focused, with the pressure of lifelong individual dreams, team titles and possibly college scholarships on the line. A friend introduced Rulon to their niece, who just needed a small loan to get more financing. After the speeches, assistant coach Rad Martinez gathers everyone in the center of the mat. After an FBI investigation, she pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering and was sentenced to 34 months in prison. Rulon cant outrun his past, nor does he seem to want to. Rulon is owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution and he gets $50 a monthenough for about a tank and a half of gas in his Beetle. Its a tragedy, Rulon said, fighting back tears as he stood shirtless, addressing his weight in the season premiere. I try to use it to inspire and get kids motivated to come out for wrestling for us., When he looks back with 20 years of hindsight on the match that first made him a household name, he draws inspiration from Karelin. He was raised on a dairy farm in Wyoming, where the family grew crops and milked cows twice a day. So can wrestling mats. Rulon Gardner struggled at school due to a learning disability. He had to leave and go to a nearby mall to accommodate all the people who wanted to talk to him and get autographs. The specifics, he says, he really cant get into. The day after the tournament is a FridayFebruary 14 to be exactthe 18th anniversary of Rulons night on the mountain that cost him his toe. Rulons office handles the gamut of insurance types, and hes become well-versed in life, health, property, casualty, home and auto. But hes been working with a new trainer and says hes dropped almost 40 pounds since late last winter when the high school wrestling season ended. Most coaches sit in the chairs, but Rulon stands behind his. Despite spending four months in a high-school wrestling environment where weight is an obsession and scales are plentiful, he says he avoided stepping on one the whole season. As the American shares in the Olympic Channel film 'Rulon', he got separated from the party he was with, became trapped in a shallow river, and was forced to spend the night in sub-zero temperatures with no shelter or jacket. After falling into the river four times, Rulon was unable to move any farther and he decided to build a shelter and wait for a rescue team. Afton welcomed hometown hero Rulon . Hes dealing with coaches, parents andfor the first time this yearcollege recruiters. Traycee was a heavyweight last season, before cutting down to 220 this year. The one person that can change it is me.. All Rights Reserved. Herriman High has back-to-back state champs. The Olympic Channel original film will premiere digitally on Friday, 2 April 2021 on OlympicChannel.com and the official Olympic Channel apps for mobile and connected TV devices. The 8,500-seat gym is the former home of an NBA G-League team thats since moved to Delaware and a former team in a now defunct arena football league. In 2002, two years after his Olympic triumph, he was involved in a snowmobile accident. And Ive never heard a word. Its been nine years. For much of his storied sports career, two-time Olympic medalist Rulon Gardner was a slave to the scale. There is one tangible positive in Rulons life as a direct result of his appearance on The Biggest Loser. I gotta make some changes.. In January 2011, he was announced as a contestant on season 11 of the American reality television show, The Biggest Loser. After several hours in his makeshift shelter, he stopped shivering, which led him to believe that he was dying. The state tournament is an all-day affair on both Wednesday and Thursday, and JRI has no issue with him logging those hours at the arena. It has a lot in common with the guy manhandling the steering wheel. Photo Credit: NBCNews.com Many details concerning Jeffs' wives are not known as a majority of them still keep to themselves and are not vocal about their FLDS lives. With Bob Costas, Katie Couric, Rulon Gardner, Philip Hersh. Its sour, but its still candy. Rulon asks the client to share some of his corporate financial goals, and Lydia gives the pitch about what services they can offer. Rulon began a regular wrestling season while in junior high and continued with the wrestling seasons until he graduated with a degree in physical education from the University of Nebraska. The night before the tournament, he stopped at a buffet restaurant for dinner. Can I talk to the parents about insurance afterward? But the shaved head and approachable demeanor remain. And all the accomplishments that hes had, and all the stories that he tells, it all couldnt happen to a better person. His two lightweights are both eliminated on Day 1 but the two heavier weights, Talmage Carman and Traycee Norman, win two matches apiece. He lets the manager of one local insurance outlet put him in a headlock for their photo. He wants to push the kids as hard as he can, the way old coaches pushed him, trying to be a force in their lives that leads them to greatness. I can pick them both up if you want, he jokes about his more than 400 pounds combined of state champion wrestlers. Gardner attended junior college at Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho) in Rexburg, Idaho, and as a sophomore won the NJCAA national heavyweight wrestling championship. There are two Patriots balls, one with the Super Bowl XXXVIII logo and one with signatures from a bunch of players. Some kids want it more than others, but few want it as bad as he used to, 20 or 30 years ago. Five Rings Films presents the incredible story of wrestler Rulon Gardner, who shocked the world at the 2000 Olympic Games, became an American icon overnight, and then survived multiple near-death experiences, crushing weight gain, and bankruptcy to emerge undefeated. On December 31, 2004, Gardner fought Hidehiko Yoshida in a judo vs wrestling mixed martial arts (MMA) bout for the Pride Fighting Championships at an event named PRIDE Shockwave 2004. He and Justin were the heaviest team on the ranch. (Herriman competes in 6A, the classification for the biggest schools in the state.) He thinks about headlines in the Star Valley Independent, back in his hometown in Wyoming that was so happy to claim him when things were going well. Its one in a long line of injuries he has battled throughout his life. The office sits in a strip of brick storefronts, and the front door opens to a wall of pristine, snowcapped mountains. From Allstate telling you to prepare for mayhem, to State Farm handling a series of calamities at Chris Pauls house to Farmers dealing with any nightmare scenario J.K. Simmons can conjure. Rulon Gardner caused one of the greatest upsets in Olympic wrestling history when he won gold at Olympic Games Sydney 2000. Rulon again captured the attention of America when he appeared as a contestant of the NBC television program The Biggest Loser. On the posters, Rulon is frozen in time, even as those days move further in the rearview. In 2002, Rulon faced a serious life-threatening situation. Rulon signed up with his friend Justin Pope, a fellow wrestler (who beat Rulon in junior high) and long-time friend. But he also knows hes Rulon Gardner. Rulon was partially on the hook. Rulon Gardner, who was an All-American wrestler at Nebraska before scoring one of the biggest upsets in the sports history in the 2000 Olympic gold medal round, announced this weekend that he has entered the U.S. Open. Oh, do you know who he is? Rulons coworker asks his client. Rulon and his wife live in Logan, Utah, where he runs a gym with Pope. But behind the scenes, he says it was miserable. Rulon Gardner is crammed into the driver's seat of a 2006 Volkswagen Beetle. Gardner stands behind him, hands on Jacks shoulders, imparting a few final words of wisdom as they wait for his mat assignment. One of his lightweights catches an elbow in the wrong spot and blood pours from his nose, seeping into his warm-up shirt and splattering on the crowded mat. Unbelievably, that wasn't Rulon's only near-death experience with hypothermia. He says one day he took a trash can up to the curb, nobody ever came to pick it up, and two days later a neighbor dragged it back in. In 2005, Gardner published his autobiography (co-written by Bob Schaller), Never Stop Pushing: My Life from a Wyoming Farm to the Olympic Medals Stand, in which he describes his Greco-Roman wrestling career, his academic struggles (as someone who suffers from a learning disability) and an account of his near-death experience when stranded after a snowmobile accident. He pulls a few aside individually and talks to them about being the ones wearing medals next year. STARTING OVER: "Loser" Rulon Gardner won the gold medal in 2004. He wants to convince every college recruiter to give his kids a shot, and a head start on the rest of their lives. There are two lightweights and two heavyweights, making for convenient practice partners. Empty shelves line the wall to his right, but various items from his vast memorabilia collection fill the ones to his left. Elsewhere, on another mat, Jacks teammate Jacob Hendrickson has suffered the same fategetting pinned despite being aheadwith two assistant coaches in his corner because the matches ran concurrently. Yoshida, in addition to being an Olympic gold medalist in judo, was a highly successful MMA fighter. JRI insurance has a branch in Payson, 60 miles south of Salt Lake City, about a 50-minute drive south of Herriman High. Now, standing in the dark, he watches the kids under the spotlight trying to earn their own. Rad, like many coaches, has put on a tie. Rulon and Rad follow Talmage out to the mat. If I turn my mind on and do it, I'll do it. He deserves all the accolades that he has.. And he was searching for that mindset again. This time Gardner stayed upright, and the two massive men danced chest-to-chest through a scoreless three-minute first period. But he just loves that little red car, with the odometer approaching 300,000 miles. On February 24, 2007, Gardner and two other men survived a crash when a light aircraft he was traveling in crashed into Lake Powell, Utah. Rulon still looks to his old buddy Dremiel Byers for inspiration. (He notes the irony, again, of him being a spokesman for safety.) Gardner's goal is to get near the weight at which he competed. Hes printed off an endless supply of 5-by-8" photos on glossy paperon one side, the Olympic referee is raising a triumphant Gardners hand as the defeated Russian Karelin is scowling with a hand on his hip. The three men swam for more than an hour in 44-degree water to reach the shore. Last summer, Gardner began to seriously consider a wrestling comeback. His first wife is believed to be Zola. His second great grandfather was Archibald Gardner,[4] who was one of the early settlers of Star Valley, Wyoming. After several hours in his makeshift shelter, he stopped shivering and started having visions, which led him to believe that he was probably dying. In 2002, Gardner went snowmobiling with some friends in the mountains surrounding Star Valley, Wyoming. During his efforts to regain his composure and regroup, he fell into the freezing Salt River with his snowmobile. 2 immediately begins. Its like hes sitting in the strongman booth at a carnival and they want to document his strength. After the Athens Olympics, Rulon had gained 210 pounds, culminating in total body weight of 474 pounds. While at Nebraska, Gardner finished fourth in the 275lb. Select from premium Rulon Gardner of the highest quality. Rulon is sentimental. He isnt supposed to talk about it. Its fitting that Gardner sells insurance. Rulons wrestling career began when he was six years old. He points to some of the younger members of the team and tells them theyre the future. The Los Angeles Rams drafted defensive end out of Toledo, Desjuan Johnson with the 259th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. [7], After the Athens Olympics, Gardner gained 210 pounds, culminating in a total body weight of 474 pounds. Gardner became famous as a Wyoming farm boy, but his Mormon family has ties back to Utah for generations. And he seems fine with the arrangement. That was just a small dumbbell shy of 500. He travelled over 9,000km to Japan to take on judo Olympic gold medallist Hidehiko Yoshida. From the Wyoming farm where he grew up the youngest of nine siblings, through his struggles as a student with dyslexia, all the way to the Olympic medal stand, to his night on the mountain and back to the Olympic podium. With the video paused, Gardner meanders through one of the most improbable sporting stories ever, about a kid who grew up milking cows on a Wyoming farm. One of the Greco-Roman grapplers lowest moments came in 2012, when he filed for bankruptcy. Rulon and his assistant coaches address the team. You may have heard of me He obliges every request until hes the last one in the room, packs up his suitcase with his unsold merchandise and heads out the door. As hes unpacked boxes in his new home and found items he barely remembers receiving, some have made it to JRI. The short version, Rulon says, is that he was presented an opportunity to invest in a real estate venture in 2006. And whos seen more accidents than Rulon Gardner? [22], Gardner attempted a comeback for the 2012 Olympics[23] but was unable to make the 264.5 pound max weight limit for the U.S. Olympic Trials and therefore ineligible to compete for a position on the Olympic team. He was raised on a dairy farm in Wyoming, where the family grew crops and milked cows twice a day. They clear the floor and the jumbotron hanging from the ceiling lists which bouts will begin on which mats. His win made him the only American to ever win both a World and Olympic title in Greco-Roman wrestling. Rulon Gardner, a 2000 Olympic wrestling champion, entered this week's U.S. Open, which would be the 51-year-old's first competition in more than a decade. A former Husker and gold-medal winner is getting back onto the wrestling mat. After the failed comeback attempt in 2012, he even came back to the peacock, working again for NBCs coverage of those London Games from their New York City office. For me, it was like, Theyre trusting me to train an Olympic champion? It would hurt Rulons reputation if he oversold one of his athletes and they didnt back up his praise. Today, Gardner has taken the lessons learnt and built a new life for himself. I need to stop saying it and start doing it. Rulon Gardner became the first man to beat Alexander Karelin, who was riding a 13-year unbeaten streak, in international competition when he won a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Games. Rulon doesnt like wearing his badge on a lanyard that chokes his neck, so he tries to avoid it. Castranuova says she thought Rulon would win the whole competition and was shocked when he left. Theres a curly-headed heavyweight from Fremont High, Weston Warr, whom Rulon has taken a liking to after theyve spoken at a few tournaments throughout the last two seasons. He talks about his Seven Steps to Success, which are outlined in his autobiography. Im the eye candy, Rulon jokes. But he estimates his weight is about where he started on Loser. Karelin was previously unbeaten for 13 years in international competition. He loves working with kids to help them achieve their greatest success. They dim the lights and extend the lower level of the bleachers, with extra rows of yellow seats now closer to the action. Another client comes out of a meeting with one of Rulons coworkers, and on the way out the door he spots the heavyweight. People think, Oh, Rulon Gardner is a fraud. Or, Rulon Gardner is not trustworthy. They dont realize that sometimes its not you, its other people around you., Gardners quest to win back his medal became fodder for the press, but coverage just looped it in with his well-known financial issues. He was on The Biggest Loser, hosted by Jillian Michaels. After retiring from his event by adding a bronze medal in the Athens 2004 Olympics, Rulon the wrecking ball Gardner accepted an invitation to compete in a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) bout. Because the human body and the human mind can overcome anything.. The American gold medallist stars in the Olympic Channel film 'Rulon', which will be released on Friday, 2nd April 2021. Herrimans lightest wrestler, Jack Lounsbury, is up first. Its the second week of February and Coach Gardnerhis kids just call him Rulonhas four high-schoolers in the Utah 6A State Championships. Rulon calls Moses brother, though he calls a lot of people brother. Now Im big again, I need to go back and get up early in the morning, set time aside. At this time, Im asking to leave The Biggest Loser for a personal reason. And that was it. Rulon Gardner finally explains leaving The Biggest Loser Ruby Turpin July 4, 2011 Gossip, Rulon Gardner, The Biggest Loser Rulon Gardner hasn't exactly been silent about his early. [8] Gardner shocked the trainers, staff, and contestants on the April 26 episode by announcing he would be leaving the show "for personal reasons", and left the show without a final weigh-in. On this very trip, he was disappointed because he would have liked to go to the famed Carnegie Deli, whose main restaurant in Manhattan closed in 2016 after nearly 80 years. Rumor is at the world championships he's gonna have to face a mysterious . This is not LeBron James sitting courtside at his sons basketball game, jovially stepping onto the court, with everyone in the gym streaming his every reaction online. He was no slouch. LINCOLN, Neb. He jokes that it took him too long to figure one con that was pulled on him repeatedly: Organizations would make up some award to give him, largely as an excuse to get him to show up for free for an event to which they could sell tickets. Thats his daily motivation. They all smile as he pulls them in tight. Rulon is walking carefully. Gardner shocked the trainers, staff, and contestants on the April 26 episode by announcing he would be leaving the show "for personal reasons", and left the show without a final weigh-in. As a result, all of Gardners Olympic memorabilia and some of his vehicles were auctioned off. One client leaves and its on to the next one. Some of the unwelcome nicknames given to him included Dumbo, and later Fatso due to his size. Rulon Ellis Gardner (born August 16, 1971) is an American retired Greco-Roman wrestler. Rulon Gardners income source is mostly from being a successful Wrestler. I know what I need to do, now I need to focus, and The Biggest Loser taught you that. Hey Mount Olive wrestlers, this is Rulon Gardner. He attended both Ricks and Nebraska on wrestling scholarships. You can say Im stupid or Im stubborn because I think anything is possible, he said. In track and field, as a senior, he took second at the state finals in the shot put.[15]. Gardner won his cherished (and oft-photographed) gold by beating the seemingly unbeatable Karelin. These injuries included an amputated toe and a dislocated wrist, but he still went on to win the U.S. Olympic trials for his weight class and then to compete in the 2004 Summer Olympics. He didn't even start wrestling until his freshman year of high school and became a state champ his senior year. Shortly after, he became a national junior college heavyweight wrestling champion and walked on to the University of Nebraskas football team. Im at a low point now. A few months later, Rulon shared that hes been doing well. Most Olympic champions will tell you that self-belief is key to being the best in the world. Due to the physical damage, a saw had to be used to remove his boots. Gardner is known for his defeat of Aleksandr Karelin at the 2000 Summer Olympics. I was offered millions by the WWE to compete for them and I turned it down, Gardner said. One, two, three, state titles!. Gardner attended Star Valley High School in Afton, Wyoming, and was a three-sport letter winner and standout in football, wrestling, and track and field. He laments how people saw his name and the word bankruptcy in headlines and assumed the worst. CREATIVE. After 16 weeks on the show, Gardner had lost 173 pounds! At one point, he became separated from the group. Rulon gives his incoming wrestler a high-five, then high-fives his state champ and match No. Due to the physical damage, a saw had to be used to remove his boots. Here comes Traycee, running in to compete on the same mat. Now its like, O.K., lets be smart about any decisions in the future, he said. That season featured partners competing in tandem. In 2002, he had a toe amputated after a snowmobile accident. When he was eventually rescued, he was experiencing hypothermia and severe frostbite. Rulon's weight has fluctuated again since then, but has most recently lost 30lbs (13kg), thanks to his new personal trainer and cutting refined sugars and processed food out from his diet. But between a full-time job selling insurance and speaking engagements across the country, he has a full plate. Despite facing such dramatic odds against the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of all time, he decided to try and win gold to silence his doubters. Even as he gets his feet under himself and recovers financially, he feels betrayed. Rulon Gardner's age is 51. Gardner is a Wyoming native who now lives in Utah. But despite being the most recognizable face in the gym, one of the most eventful parts of his day is when a tournament official informs him that he has to wear his credential. He tells everyone to put their hands in. As each finals match starts, an announcer over the loudspeaker introduces both wrestlers, along with their hometowns, season records, past accomplishments on the mat, parents names and GPAs. Thats the experienceand the last time most people have seen him on the public stagehe says is most misunderstood. What are you doing down there? he bellows at one wrestler who is splayed out on all fours underneath an opponent. My parrot, Gardner jokes. Gardner is keeping busy in his late 40s. American Olympian who competed in the 2000 Olympic games in Greco-Roman wrestling, winning a gold medal in the 130 kg weight class. But hes a recognizable customer, and several other diners came up to tell Rulon they were fans or he was an inspiration as they passed by his table on their way to and from the buffet. The wrestler has almost lost his life several times. The Bruins crashed out of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sunday night, stunned in overtime of Game 7 by the Panthers, 43. These injuries included an amputated toe and a dislocated wrist, but he still went on to win the U.S. Olympic trials for his weight class and then to compete in the 2004 Summer Olympics. Many of the news headlines written about him since 2012 focused on his bankruptcy filing, the result of a fraud case, and a quest to recoup his gold medal, which he couldnt afford to bring back into his possession. He would rise before the sun to move bales of hay, chop wood, and milk and clean cows, and attributes his early strength to the rigors of this work. Find Rulon Gardner stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images.
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