Name: Bruce Baumgartner
Sport: Wrestling
Event(s): Super-Heavyweight Freestyle
DOB: 11/2/1960
Birthplace: Haledon, N.J.
Hometown: Haledon, N.J.
High School: Manchester Regional High School (Haledon, N.J.)
College: Indiana State University, Oklahoma State University
Olympic Experience
- Four-time Olympian (1984, 1988, 1992, 1996); four-time Olympic medalist (2 golds, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
- Los Angeles, gold (super-heavyweight, freestyle)
- Seoul 1988, silver (super-heavyweight, freestyle)
- Barcelona 1992, gold (super-heavyweight, freestyle)
- Atlanta 1996, bronze (super-heavyweight, freestyle)
Personal:
Son of Lois and Robert Baumgartner...Father was a diesel mechanic...Was too large to play peewee football and didn’t find Little League baseball interesting, so turned to wrestling...Competed in high school wrestling but didn’t win the state title in New Jersey and therefore did not get recruited by top collegiate wrestling programs...Won 86 of 87 matches during his last two years at Indiana State University...Received his master’s degree in Industrial Arts Education from Oklahoma State University...Coached wrestling at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania before becoming the school’s athletic director...Father to two sons, Bryan and Zachary.