Baumgartner, Bruce

During his studies at the university, he became a three-time champion in the NCCA All-American version and in 1982 became the national champion in the NCCA version.

In 1981 he made his debut in international competitions and became the champion of the Universiade . In 1982, he took second place at the World Cup and seventh at the World Cup. In 1983, he was second at the Pan American Games and won the bronze medal of the World Cup. In 1984 he became the owner of the World Cup.

At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, he fought in the category of over 100 kilograms ( heavyweight ). Tournament participants, numbering 8 people in the category, were divided into two groups. Points were awarded for winning fights, from 4 points for a clear victory and 0 points for a clear defeat. When three wrestlers with the highest scores were determined in each group (the struggle took place according to the system with elimination after two defeats ), they played among themselves the places in the group. Then the winners of the groups met in the battle for the first or second places, who took second place - for the third-fourth places, took third place - for the fifth-sixth places. Bruce Baumgartner more than confidently dealt with his rivals, in the first fight putting on the shoulder blades already Vasily Andrey, who became the champion of this Olympiad but in Greco-Roman wrestling, and became the champion of the Olympic Games.

In 1985, he won first place in the tournament, called the World Super Championship and was again third in the regular season. In 1986, he became the champion for the first time, again won the World Cup. In 1987, he won the Pan American Championship and the Pan American Games, and remained third in the World Championship. In 1988, he was second in the World Cup, and won the Pan American Championship.

At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, he fought in the category of up to 130 kilograms ( heavyweight ). The tournament participants, numbering 15 people in the category, were divided into two groups. The rules, basically, remained the same, only in the final bouts of the group left four best athletes in the group. Bruce Baumgartner confidently went to the second gold medal, but in the final he could not defeat David Gobejishivili , who later became the main competitor for the American wrestler.

In 1989, he won the World Cup, won the Pan American Championship, and remained second at the World Championship. In 1990, he again won the World Cup, again remained second at the World Championships and won the tournament of the Grand Masters of Olympic wrestling. In 1991, for the third time in a row, he won the World Cup, won the Pan American Championship, and remained only seventh at the World Championship.

At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, he fought in the category of up to 130 kilograms ( heavyweight ). The tournament participants, numbering 15 people in the category, were divided into two groups. The rules basically remained the same, only the five best athletes in the group left the group for the final bouts. This time, Bruce Baumgartner defeated David Gobejishivili in the group, and the path to the second gold medal for the American wrestler was open.

In 1993, he was second at the World Cup, but won the World Cup, becoming a two-time world champion. In 1994, he regained the World Cup, but remained second at the World Cup. In 1995, he won the Pan American Games, was second in the World Cup, and became the three-time world champion.

At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, he fought in the category of up to 130 kilograms ( heavyweight ). After the first round, the wrestlers were divided into two tables: winners and losers. The winners continued to fight among themselves, and the losers participated in comforting battles. After two defeats in the preliminary and classification (comforting) rounds, the wrestler dropped out of the tournament. Thus, during the tournament, the losers were eliminated twice from the table of the defeated, but it was also replenished by the losers from the table of winners. Ultimately, the top eight wrestlers were determined. The losers never met in the fight for 1-2 places, those who lost in the semifinal met with the winners of the comforting battles and the winners of these meetings fought for 3-4 places and so on. 18 athletes fought in the category. Bruce Baumgartner in the second round lost to Russian wrestler Andrei Shumilin and made his way up through a sieve of comforting fights. Shumilin was defeated in the semifinals and again fought with Baumgartner for third place. The score after the main and extra time was a draw, but the judges gave the victory to Baumgartner.

He was the standard bearer of the US team at these Games.

In 1997, for the last time became the owner of the World Cup.

In 1978 he graduated from school in Halidon. In 1982 he received a bachelor's degree from Indiana University , in 1984 he graduated from the University of Oklahoma . He began his coaching career in May 1982 as an assistant wrestling coach at the University of Oklahoma , then in 1984 he transferred to the University of Edinboro ( Pennsylvania ). In 1991 he became the head coach of the university team. In 1997, he left the post of head coach of the team to the post of director for physical education at the same university and is to this day. From 1998 to 2003, he was also President of the United States Wrestling Federation.

From 1984 to the present, he has been leading the wrestler training campus , and is also a motivational speaker .

Member of the United States National Fight Hall of Fame (2002), International Fight Hall of Fame (2003) ^[4]

Married, has three children.

• Bruce Baumgartner - Olympic stats on Sports-Reference.com
• Bruce Baumgartner - Profile at International Wrestling Database