Gregory Ruth (August 9, 1939 – June 30, 1974) was an American

wrestler Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves diffe ...

. He competed in the men's freestyle lightweight at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

. He wrestled collegiately at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

, where he was a two-time NCAA champion. Ruth was killed in a powerboat racing accident on June 30, 1974, in

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin, Texas, Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 popul ...

. He was buried at Sunset Memorial Park in

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, 3rd most populous city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,026 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the most populous city and the county seat of Clevel ...

References

1939 births 1974 deaths American male sport wrestlers Motorboat racers who died while racing Oklahoma Sooners wrestlers Olympic wrestlers for the United States Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in wrestling Sports deaths in Texas Sportspeople from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 20th-century American sportsmen Wrestlers at the 1963 Pan American Games Wrestlers at the 1964 Summer Olympics {{US-wrestling-bio-stub