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. Some of the advice is technical, some is motivational. In 2002, Rulon faced a serious life-threatening situation. Its a long story. 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. If I turn my mind on and do it, I'll do it. Not on the TV show. Thankfully, Rulon's mom and dad were always telling him that with prayer and persistence he could find the strength to do anything. But policy is policy. Now, his dark gray, short-sleeve button-down shirt dangles over his belly and hangs out in front of him, unlike the singlets that cling to his body in both the poster and on the book cover. This is their moment, and he wants to let them have it. CREATIVE. And the next year, he won a world championship. Herriman has a section in the arenas upper deck for teammates, parents and supporters. He apologizes to the room for his hoarse voice, which he blames on his coaching. Someday the book will come out, Gardner says. He remained stranded for 18 hours. As a member of the 2000 US Olympic wrestling team, Rulon was pitted against Russian legend Alexander Karelin, in what can only be described as a David versus Goliath scenario. Rulon Gardner finally explains leaving The Biggest Loser This time Gardner stayed upright, and the two massive men danced chest-to-chest through a scoreless three-minute first period. Karelin was previously unbeaten for 13 years in international competition. Herriman High has a break now, as the tourney progresses through the middleweights, before the schools two other wrestlers compete. I surprised myself probably more than them.. In 2004, he won a bronze medal at the Olympics. Thats good news. Thats the attitude hell never shake. At one point, he became separated from the group. Gardner won a bronze medal at the 2004 Games. And whos seen more accidents than Rulon Gardner? You can say Im stupid or Im stubborn because I think anything is possible, he said. It would hurt Rulons reputation if he oversold one of his athletes and they didnt back up his praise. 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. Gardner is strong enough to handle the steering wheel with two thick fingers and a thumb. He got married in October 2020, has lost around 50lbs (22.5kg) in weight, and recently moved to St. George, Utah, where he hopes to start a youth wrestling training centre. He is 48 now, sells insurance and has a second job coaching wrestling at a Salt Lake City-area high school. 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. In the second period, Traycee connects on a headlock and sends his opponent to his back. Rulon Gardner caused one of the greatest upsets in Olympic wrestling history when he won gold at Olympic Games Sydney 2000. All those people who told me I could never get here and get on this stage, Im going to show them. Getting healthy and keeping the weight down. And Ive never heard a word. Its been nine years. Share Twenty years ago at the Sydney Olympics, Greco-Roman wrestler Rulon Gardner pulled off one of the biggest upsets in sports history. Rulon Gardner Won't Die: Directed by Adam Irving. As he weaves around trucks, zipping up I-15 North through Provo, Utah, he may be the biggest human on the highway, packed into one of the tiniest vehicles. Rulon Gardners income source is mostly from being a successful Wrestler. The sun is starting to set. 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. Little do you know whats coming up in life.. We have estimated Where Are They Now: Rulon Gardner - Sports Illustrated After the ref raises his opponents arm, Rulon picks up his sweaty T-shirt and shorts off the mat and carries them back to the warmup area. During a snowmobiling trip with some friends in Star Valley, Wyoming, he became separated from the group and fell into the freezing Salt River with his snowmobile. Nearly a dozen younger members of the team who failed to qualify for States are doing their own drills in one corner of the room. 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. My mom said, Is this the kid that I raised? Options: Reply Quote Posted by: PtLoma ( ) Date: April 29, 2011 05:50PM [1] In 2010, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member. Gardner poses for photo after photo, always holding the 2004 bronze medal and letting his admirers hold the gold. American Olympian who competed in the 2000 Olympic games in Greco-Roman wrestling, winning a gold medal in the 130 kg weight class. (He notes the irony, again, of him being a spokesman for safety.) The sun began to lower and the temperature, which had been twenty-five degrees, began to drop. Most Olympic champions will tell you that self-belief is key to being the best in the world. 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 raves about Lydia, who has years of experience working in the Utah Insurance Department, and he alternately calls her both the brains and the muscle of the operation. Others are still drinking the Kool-Aid, he says. Rulon currently serves as the head wrestling coach at Herriman High School in Utah. Rulon Jeffs' Wives: How Many and Where Are They Now? - The Cinemaholic He is looking almost straight up at the flag, at attention. This is another touchy subject for Rulon, though one he discusses openly. It has a lot in common with the guy manhandling the steering wheel. After several hours in his makeshift shelter, he stopped shivering and started having visions, which led him to believe that he was probably dying. I learned how to count calories. He has appeared at corporate events, celebrity golf tournaments, trade shows, and conventions. He paid her $24K for the first six months, then $36K for the next three, about a quarter million total. Rulon Gardner was born in Afton, WY on August 16, 1971. American Olympian who competed in the 2000 Olympic games in Greco-Roman wrestling, winning a gold medal in the 130 kg weight class. Youre the coolest, Moses tells him, as they both delight in the excuse to catch up and reminisce about their time on the show. He is from . Rulons wrestling career began when he was six years old. Rulon Gardner struggled at school due to a learning disability. Gardner is entered in the Greco-Roman . He laments how people saw his name and the word bankruptcy in headlines and assumed the worst. He drew a direct line between what Rulon taught him about good positioning and how he was able to throw his opponent in the finals. Hes picked up yet another job, as an ambassador and spokesman for an app that helps promote workplace safety for construction sites and other heavy industry jobs. Today, Gardner has taken the lessons learnt and built a new life for himself. But behind the scenes, he says it was miserable. Last summer, Gardner began to seriously consider a wrestling comeback. The 51-year-old will wrestle in the senior Greco-Roman tournament at 130 kg. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. He also takes pride in the fact that even if he wouldnt have ultimately taken his old practice partner Dremiel Byerss spot on the 12 Olympic team, at least he made everyone in the room work a little harder. I was a good wrestler, but I want to be a better coach than I ever was as a wrestler.. He holds up his thumb and index finger a couple inches apart. On the posters, Rulon is frozen in time, even as those days move further in the rearview. He did not appear on the final episode of the season, except in the background of scenes of other contestants. With Bob Costas, Katie Couric, Rulon Gardner, Philip Hersh. Rumor is at the world championships he's gonna have to face a mysterious . Gardner was also irritated by some of the sniping from fellow contestants. [11][12] He told his story on a first-season episode of I Survived. On February 24, 2007,[13] Gardner and two other men survived a crash when a light aircraft he was traveling in crashed into Lake Powell, Utah. His practice room simply cant have the same intensity as the ones at USA Wrestling or the University of Nebraska. Turns out, it was the first miracle of many. Not even after his failed 2012 Olympic attempt. Sep 23, 2020. He was able to regain his medals in 2020. Rulon says one of the images that stands out from that day was in the final second of the match, when both wrestlers knew it was over. Rulons weight is still a battle. One of the Greco-Roman grapplers lowest moments came in 2012, when he filed for bankruptcy. 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 certainly has no problem using his name to draw people in. [18], In 2001, Gardner added a world championship to his list of accomplishments with a victory in the finals over Mihaly Deak-Bardos of Hungary. Can I talk to the parents about insurance afterward? But between a full-time job selling insurance and speaking engagements across the country, he has a full plate. He was an All-State selection in both football and wrestling, and was also the 1989 wrestling state heavyweight champion. . He pulls into a parking lot surrounded by snow-covered peaks, leaves Gus in the car and steps into the chilly mountain air in his gym shorts. At the time, Rulon and his then wife were operating a gym in Logan, Utah, and Justin was an investor. That same drive that helped me succeed [in wrestling], is the same drive that helped me survive in the wilderness, he said. Rulon again captured the attention of America when he appeared as a contestant of the NBC television program The Biggest Loser. Gardner took the tests required to get his insurance license in 2018. But he also knows he cant risk pushing them away. He outlasted 15 contestants and shed 173 pounds, looking notably trimmer and more fit at 301 in his last official weight check. Despite sealing victory and a healthy paycheck as the underdog, Gardner decided to finish his MMA career then and there, as the sport didnt carry the same honour for him as wrestling. One, two, three, state titles!. The harrowing experience cost Gardner the middle toe on his right foot, which he keeps in formaldehyde in a jar in his refrigerator, to remind him of his mortality. Theres a circle in the middle where the action takes place, and each wrestler gets one corner with chairs for two coaches. Gardner attended junior college at Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho) in Rexburg, Idaho and as a sophomore won the NJCAA national heavyweight wrestling championship. The result of having no feeling in his feet is that sometimes hell miss a step. He points to some of the younger members of the team and tells them theyre the future. He is the son of Reed and Virginia Gardner and the last of nine children. Practically speaking, he is coaching more than that. He says he liked when his coaches would stand, and he thinks it helps him be more animated. Rulon weighed in at 474 pounds the first week, up from 286 in his Olympic years. The night before the tournament, he stopped at a buffet restaurant for dinner. 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. There were parents with their kids, spouses and siblings. TV-G. 5:12. To get back to that weight. Wrestlers have such a diverse skill-set, that they are often approached to compete in other sports. Everyone just wants Rulon to be healthy. This inspiring memoir tells the story of his impoverished upbringing as one of nine children in a close-knit Mormon family on a farm in Wyoming, where unceasing chores led to tremendous strength at an early age. Oh. His win made him the only American to ever win both a World and Olympic title in Greco-Roman wrestling. After 16 weeks on the show, Gardner had lost 173 pounds. 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. Rulon Gardner does not compete after registering for comeback wrestling Gardner is a Wyoming native who now lives in Utah. Former athlete goes broke is a common trope, oftentimes the result of overspending or falling down the wrong path. [A PR rep for the show, which has since been relaunched on the NBC/Comcast-owned USA Network, could not make anyone involved with Gardners season of the show available for comment. The show has faced plenty of controversy over the years (including criticisms of the weight-loss methods and their lasting effects, famed trainer Jillian Michaels giving her team caffeine pills and allegations of contestants taking weight-loss pills) and Rulon says former contestants are divided into two camps. Two-time Olympian and wrestling legend Rulon Gardner released a statement Wednesday morning regarding his abrupt decision to quit 'The Biggest Loser' even though some considered him the. Then they both win and advance. [20], Gardner competed once in mixed martial arts, and in 2004 he became the host for a professional wrestling league called Real Pro Wrestling. Some kids want it more than others, but few want it as bad as he used to, 20 or 30 years ago. 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. 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. 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. Rulon Gardner's age is 51. Episode 1913 -- Pictured: Olympic wrestler Rulon Gardner during . Former Husker wrestler Rulon Gardner attempting comeback Fighting chance. When he was eventually rescued, he was experiencing hypothermia and severe frostbite. 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. Film tracks Rulon Gardner's highs, lows in years since gold - Yahoo News Through it all, though, he says hes still glad he went on the show. 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 was willing to answer questions about anythingfrostbite, bankruptcy, divorcebut not that. So when Rulon filed for bankruptcy and authorities collected his possession to be auctioned off, they couldnt touch the medal. Rulon Ellis Gardner (born August 16, 1971) is an American retired Greco-Roman Olympic Gold Medalist wrestler. 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. While Gardner has been working out of the office for a few months, he officially moved his stuff in last night. In the morning they were able to flag down a passing fisherman who picked them up. 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. And he was searching for that mindset again. After several hours in his makeshift shelter, he stopped shivering, which led him to believe that he was dying. Rulon Gardner: Seven things you need to know about the Olympic champ He earned a football scholarship to attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He lets the manager of one local insurance outlet put him in a headlock for their photo. That would be impossible. He talks to the teammates wholl be there as spectators about letting that experience motivate them for next year. It tarnishes your name, Gardner said of going through an ordeal like that. His first wife is believed to be Zola. He travelled over 9,000km to Japan to take on judo Olympic gold medallist Hidehiko Yoshida. He talks to every single person that wants to talk to him, and hell sign an autograph for anybody, his assistant coach, Martinez, says. As Rulon Gardner competes to lose big on television, his Afton Shortly after, he became a national junior college heavyweight wrestling champion and walked on to the University of Nebraskas football team. Gardner attempted a comeback for the 2012 Olympics 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. Rulon Gardner Won't Die (2021) - IMDb Rulon even gave him his phone number so they could text each other. Who was bullied and teased as he. Karelin had been undefeated for 13 years, and had not given up a point in six years, prior to his loss in the gold medal match to Gardner. Rulon started paying her $24,000 a month. He remained stranded for the next 18 hours. After an FBI investigation, she pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering and was sentenced to 34 months in prison. (Billy . For much of his storied sports career, two-time Olympic medalist Rulon Gardner was a slave to the scale. 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. Twenty years after winning a stunning gold medal at the Sydney Olympics, former wrestler Rulon Gardner reflects on the winding path his . He's a gem! 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. He now shuttles between the Olympic Training Center and his home in Logan, Utah, where, after a bank loan fell through in . Theres just one catch: He has so many autographed items, he doesnt know who signed many of them. Regain my work ethic. 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 stands and leans against her desk, hovering above a speakerphone, mindlessly clicking his pen as they discuss auto insurance quotes for a father who wants to buy a car for a teenage son whos already been in a fender bender. Before the 2004 Olympic Trials he was in a motorcycle accident and then dislocated his right wrist punching the bleachers after losing his cool during a pickup basketball game. So, how much is Rulon Gardner worth at the age of 52 years old? In January 2011, he was announced as a contestant on season 11 of the American reality television show, The Biggest Loser. He says that after his comeback bid fell shortthe result of the 40-year-old not being able to make weight on the day of the U.S. Olympic trialsa contestant gleefully chirped to the public, Once a quitter, always a quitter, even though Rulon says she knew he wasnt really a quitter. The wrestler has almost lost his life several times. Wrestler Tells Of 4th Brush With Death - CBS News 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. He stares at a row of signed baseballs and muses that he threw the ceremonial first pitch at a 2000 ALDS game in Yankee Stadium to Jos Canseco, so one of them is probably signed by him. He then went on wrestle in Lincoln, finishing as an All-American in 1993 for the Huskers. The office sits in a strip of brick storefronts, and the front door opens to a wall of pristine, snowcapped mountains. Thats why people dont know the full story. The culprit: one of his own wrestlers. He believes NBC wanted to make him look like the Olympic brat. He says trainers would do things like give him too short a jump rope or put a massive weight plate on his back while he was planking. No, not that match. He and his first wife Sheri lost their daughter, Stacey in a terrible car accident on December 26, 1990. He was afraid that he would lose both of his feet, but fortunately, he only lost his right toe to amputation. Rulon doesnt follow. School was a struggle for Rulon due to a learning disability. The Real Housewives of Atlanta The Bachelor Sister Wives 90 Day Fiance Wife Swap The Amazing Race Australia Married at First Sight The Real Housewives of Dallas My 600-lb Life Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.