Feet First After a snowmobile mishap left him ravaged by frostbite and Rulon learned about hard work and determination which became core values in Rulon Gardners life. His family were also a key part of the Mormon community. To get back to that weight. [2] Karelin was previously unbeaten for 13 years in international competition. Rulon Gardner's battle with himself - Yahoo Sports Its the last official day of the season, but Rulon says now the work really starts. Most Olympic champions will tell you that self-belief is key to being the best in the world. After reaching his competitive training weight, Rulon chose to leave the show in support of his wife and to begin the next chapter of his life. (He notes the irony, again, of him being a spokesman for safety.) Gardner put out statements after the episode aired, too, saying hed achieved his goal and was ready to go home to his wife. Rulon feels he was treated unfairly. That same drive that helped me succeed [in wrestling], is the same drive that helped me survive in the wilderness, he said. He says Bob wanted to stay in touch and keep helping him live healthier. The work continues for the former heavyweight champion of the world. His great-great-grandfather Archibald Gardner was a bishop in the church and helped build the famed Salt Lake Temple. Its nice to be able to do this, Gardner says. What are you doing down there? he bellows at one wrestler who is splayed out on all fours underneath an opponent. That would be impossible. 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. He points to some of the younger members of the team and tells them theyre the future. Not on the TV show. Its horrifying for me and my family.. 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. He now shuttles between the Olympic Training Center and his home in Logan, Utah, where, after a bank loan fell through in . Thats awesome, she said. But behind the scenes, he says it was miserable. His other post-Olympic claim to fame is that in April 2011, Gardner became the first contestant ever to quit NBCs hit weight-loss reality show The Biggest Loser. And thats positive.. Its one in a long line of injuries he has battled throughout his life. In 2001, Gardner added a world championship to his list of accomplishments with a victory in the finals over Mihaly Deak-Bardos of Hungary. Gardner is a Wyoming native who now lives in Utah. 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. The sun is starting to set. Hes the keynote speaker. Most famously, Gardner spent a February 2002 night in the wilderness after his snowmobile overturned and dunked him into an icy river multiple times. They clear the floor and the jumbotron hanging from the ceiling lists which bouts will begin on which mats. He also has licensing deals, as well as print and television endorsements. Theres just one catch: He has so many autographed items, he doesnt know who signed many of them. Empty shelves line the wall to his right, but various items from his vast memorabilia collection fill the ones to his left. In track and field, as a senior, he took second at the state finals in the shot put. On the other side is all of Rulons professional contact info and a list of insurance brands they hawkand guess what Rulon signs every time somebody bugs him for an autograph. Gardner hasnt competed since a 2012 comeback attempt in which he tried to qualify for the 2012 Olympics but failed after he could not make weight. He was able to regain his medals in 2020. In doing so, he immediately captured the admiration of Americans, winning the gold medal in one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history. 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. In 2002, Gardner went snowmobiling with some friends in the mountains surrounding Star Valley, Wyoming. You may have heard of me He obliges every request until hes the last one in the room, packs up his suitcase with his unsold merchandise and heads out the door. A friend introduced Rulon to their niece, who just needed a small loan to get more financing. Rulon Gardner, a 2000 Olympic wrestling champion, entered this week's U.S. Open, which would be the 51-year-old's first competition in more than a decade. He is 48 now, sells insurance and has a second job coaching wrestling at a Salt Lake City-area high school. [22], Gardner attempted a comeback for the 2012 Olympics[23] 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. Far from hindering his life, his size became his superpower. A former Husker and gold-medal winner is getting back onto the wrestling mat. Rulon Gardner does not compete after registering for comeback wrestling He earned a football scholarship to attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. During his efforts to regain his composure and regroup, he fell into the freezing Salt River with his snowmobile. He was an All-State selection in both football and wrestling, and was also the 1989 wrestling state heavyweight champion. And Rulon is thrust into the same conversation hes had with countless strangers over the last 20 years. My voice is a little scraggly because I care, he tells them, to some polite chuckles. I was offered millions by the WWE to compete for them and I turned it down, Gardner said. Jack has his head down, arms grabbing the trusses along the side of the metal bleachers. Gardner attended junior college at Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho) in Rexburg, Idaho and as a sophomore won the NJCAA national heavyweight wrestling championship. Wrestling has taken Gardner to 44 countries. [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. In the second period, Traycee connects on a headlock and sends his opponent to his back. Welcome back? Rulon chuckled, after hed left, and he made a face that said: Busted. Rulons weight is still a battle. He then earned a football scholarship to attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Former Husker wrestler Rulon Gardner attempting comeback Hes dealing with coaches, parents andfor the first time this yearcollege recruiters.