Steven Howard "Steve" Fraser (born March 23, 1958) is an American Greco-Roman wrestler and coach. He was the

1984 Olympic Games The 1984 Olympics may refer to: *The 1984 Winter Olympics, which were held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia *The 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an i ...

gold medalist in

Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), or classic wrestling (Euro-English) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been i ...

, in the 90 kg weight class. Fraser's gold medal was the first ever for the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in Greco-Roman wrestling. A native of

Hazel Park, Michigan Hazel Park is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Hazel Park borders Detroit to the north, roughly north of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 United Sta ...

, Fraser was a Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) state wrestling champion. In college he was a two-time

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n wrestler, wrestling at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. Fraser's gold medal was the first ever Olympic gold in Greco-Roman wrestling for the

. The next night following Fraser's gold medal performance,

Jeff Blatnick Jeffrey Carl "Jeff" Blatnick (July 26, 1957 – October 24, 2012) was an American super heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler and sports commentator. He won NCAA Division II heavyweight wrestling championships in 1978 and 1979 and won the Olympic go ...

won a second gold medal for the U.S. Greco-Roman Olympic team. Fraser served as coach of the U.S. Greco Roman team from 1997 to 2014.

Rulon Gardner Rulon Ellis Gardner (born August 16, 1971) is an American retired Greco-Roman wrestler. He won the gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games, defeating Russia's three-time reigning Olympic gold medalist Aleksandr Karelin in the final; Karelin was pr ...

who was a gold medalist at the

2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

, credits Fraser's instruction as a large part of his wrestling success. The year Fraser competed at the Olympics in 1984, the United States won 9 gold medals in wrestling, the most at a single Olympics in American wrestling history. Fraser 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 1994 and the

Michigan Sports Hall of Fame The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame to honor Michigan sports athletes, coaches and contributors. It was organized in 1954 by Michigan Lieutenant Governor Philip Hart, Michigan State University athletic director, Biggie Munn, pres ...

in 2008.Ex-Lions Moore, Murray among Michigan Sports Hall of Fame inductees
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References

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* * * 1958 births Living people American male sport wrestlers Olympic gold medalists for the United States in wrestling Wrestlers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics University of Michigan alumni People from Hazel Park, Michigan Sportspeople from Oakland County, Michigan Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in wrestling Wrestlers at the 1983 Pan American Games 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-Olympic-medalist-stub