Bruce Robert Baumgartner (born November 2, 1960) is an American former

freestyle wrestler Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling. It is one of two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games, along with Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman. scholastic wrestling, High school wrestling and men's collegiate wrestling in the U ...

. He is the current assistant vice president for university advancement and former

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

at the

Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Western University, Edinboro (abbreviated as PennWest Edinboro) is a campus of Pennsylvania Western University in Edinboro, Pennsylvania. The campus had an enrollment of 2,259 as of fall 2024. History PennWest Edinboro was foun ...

near

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

and current President of

USA Wrestling USA Wrestling (formerly known as the United States Wrestling Federation and as the United States Wrestling Association) is the organization that currently governs freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling in the United States. USA Wrestling ...

. Baumgartner is among the best American wrestlers of all time; his five World/Olympic titles place him behind only

Jordan Burroughs Jordan Ernest Burroughs (born July 8, 1988) is an American freestyle wrestler and former folkstyle wrestler who currently competes at 74 kilograms. In freestyle, Burroughs was the 2012 Olympic gold medalist, and is a six-time world champion ...

, John Smith, and

Adeline Gray Adeline Maria Gray (born January 15, 1991) is an American Freestyle wrestling, freestyle wrestler who currently competes at Wrestling weight classes#Women's wrestling, 76 kilograms. She is a six-time world champion (2012 World Wrestling Champi ...

. Between 1983 and 1996, Baumgartner won 13 World or Olympic medals, the most World and Olympic medals among American wrestlers.

Life and career

Baumgartner was born in

Haledon, New Jersey Haledon ( ) is a borough in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 9,052, an increase of 734 (+8.8%) from the 2010 census count of 8,318, which in turn reflected an i ...

. He is one of the most accomplished American wrestlers of all time, winning 4 Olympic medals (2-Gold, 1-Silver, 1-Bronze), 9 World Championship medals (3-Gold, 3-Silver, 3-Bronze) and 4 Pan-American medals (3-Gold, 1-Silver); he has also won 12 World Cup medals (7-Gold, 5-Silver), an NCAA title (and 2 Runner-Up finishes), 4 Olympic Festival titles, 2 AAU National titles and a Junior National title. During high school, Baumgartner excelled on the wrestling team, going 23–0, but was defeated in the NJ State Championship match. During the off-season he threw shot put and discus on the track team, setting several records in the shot put. Baumgartner is a four-time Olympian and owns four

Olympic Medals An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold, silver, and bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respectively. The granting of awards is laid ou ...

: two gold, one silver and one bronze. He holds a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

from

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified ...

in Terre Haute, IN where he competed collegiately for 4 years. He frequently worked out alongside Kurt Thomas, an Olympic Gymnast. During his collegiate career he finished runner-up at Nationals his sophomore and junior years, and was the 1982 NCAA National Champion his senior year completing an undefeated season of 44–0. His collegiate record was 134–12 with 73 falls. In 1995, he was presented the James E. Sullivan Award by the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

as the outstanding amateur athlete in the U.S. He was sponsored through the

New York Athletic Club The New York Athletic Club is a Gentlemen's club, private social club and athletic club in New York (state), New York state. Founded in 1868, the club has approximately 8,600 members and two facilities: the City House, located at 180 Central Pa ...

. Baumgartner attended

Manchester Regional High School Manchester Regional High School is a comprehensive, four-year public high school and regional school district serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Haledon, North Haledon and Prospect Park, three communities in Passaic County, ...

. Baumgartner ranked as one of the top super-heavyweight freestyle wrestlers for more than a decade. Winning his first World Championship medal, a bronze, in 1983; he won the World Championship in Los Angeles. He confirmed his status with the Communist Bloc (Eastern European) wrestlers by winning in 1986, clinching his first of his three world titles. In his second Olympic final in Seoul, he took silver, behind Georgian

David Gobejishvili David Gobejishvili ( ka, დავით გობეჯიშვილი; born 3 January 1963) is a Soviet Georgian wrestler and Olympic champion in Freestyle wrestling. References * Georgian Olympic committee 1963 births Living pe ...

. Four years later, in 1992, he won the rematch in Barcelona, en route to a second Olympic gold. After winning world titles in 1993 and 1995, Baumgartner was favored to win his third gold in Atlanta, but a loss to Russian Andrey Shumilin left him with a bronze medal.

Championships

In addition to his World (3) and Olympic titles (2), Baumgartner amassed three golds at the Pan American Games, 17 American titles and eight World Cup wins. An NCAA National Championship, 2, NCAA Runner-Up finishes, 2 AAU National Titles and a Junior National title. In 1998, Baumgartner was inducted into the

Athletic Hall of Fame; in 2003, the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

named him an 'Institutional Great' and inducted him into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame. In 2008, Baumgartner was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the

National Wrestling Hall of Fame The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame for amateur wrestling, headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2010, it began operating the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. History The museum was awarded to Stil ...

as a Distinguished Member in 2002 and the International Wrestling Federation Hall of Fame (FILA) in 2003.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baumgartner, Bruce 1960 births Living people Edinboro Fighting Scots athletic directors Edinboro Fighting Scots wrestling coaches Indiana State Sycamores wrestlers Manchester Regional High School alumni American male sport wrestlers Wrestlers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in wrestling Olympic silver medalists for the United States in wrestling Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in wrestling People from Haledon, New Jersey Sportspeople from Passaic County, New Jersey World Wrestling Championships medalists Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Summer World University Games medalists in wrestling Sportspeople from Erie, Pennsylvania Wrestlers at the 1983 Pan American Games Wrestlers at the 1987 Pan American Games Wrestlers at the 1991 Pan American Games Wrestlers at the 1995 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in wrestling Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in wrestling FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Goodwill Games medalists in wrestling Medalists at the 1981 Summer Universiade Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games 20th-century American sportsmen

Life and career

Championships

See also

References

External links