The greatest Olympic athlete from every U.S. state

Iowa: Dan Gable

Sport: Wrestling Freestyle

Olympics: Munich 1972

The Olympic track record might not be the longest for Dan Gable, but there is no denying his influence on amateur wrestling. Gable was born in Waterloo in 1968 and was skilled in many sports before turning his attention full-time to wrestling. It was during his sophomore year in high school that he decided to wrestle full-time and unfortunately suffered a personal tragedy when his older sister was murdered. Gable used this as motivation on the mat and he felt it was his duty to entertain his family after the tragic death of Diane Gable.

Gable continued to wrestle through his time at Iowa State University and he went undefeated until his final collegiate match. His high school and college career saw him compile an incredible 145-1 record. He notched two NCAA titles while at Iowa State and then continued to wrestle internationally until the 1972 Olympics. The Soviet Union had vowed that they would find a wrestler that could defeat the great Dan Gable. When it came time, Gable was still able to win the gold even though he had suffered a knee injury and was wrestling with seven stitches in his head. Adding to his legacy, Gable did not surrender a single point in the gold medal match.

After the 1972 Games, Gable’s main accomplishments were in the coaching realm. He coached at Iowa University and was known for his intensity. It paid off to be a wrestler under Gable as he produced 15 NCAA titles between 1976 and 1997. When the IOC tried to drop wrestling as an Olympic sport, Gable was one of the loudest voices in the backlash and eventually, the IOC reversed their decision. It’s hard to imagine amateur wrestling in the past 40 years without Dan Gable.

Honorable Mention: Shawn Johnson, gymnastics in Beijing 2008