Rulon Gardner
Rulon Gardner is an American amateur wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter born on August 16, 1971, in Afton, a town in the United States.
Gardner grew up in Afton and attended Star Valley High School before continuing his education at Brigham Young University–Idaho and later the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. His background spans both amateur wrestling and mixed martial arts, the two occupations the record associates with his name. He is a citizen of the United States and works in English.
As an amateur wrestler, Gardner built a career that placed him among competitors at the highest levels of the sport. His educational path through Star Valley High School, Brigham Young University–Idaho, and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln formed the foundation from which he pursued athletic competition. Mixed martial arts also figures among his occupations, representing a second discipline alongside his work as an amateur wrestler.
Gardner was born on August 16, 1971, and the facts of his life connect him firmly to Afton as his place of origin and to three educational institutions as the settings of his formative years. His dual identity as both an amateur wrestler and a mixed martial arts fighter marks the arc of a career that moved across more than one athletic discipline. The record lists him under the authorized label Gardner, Rulon, the name under which his career as a competitor in both sports is documented.
Quotes by Rulon Gardner
I look at what I have as compared to what I don't have. I have this, I have this, I have this. Thank God for it, and let's move on.
Some people think I have a death wish. I don't have one. I just make mistakes. Bad things happen to good people.
I can freestyle for a while, but I'm not an Olympic swimmer who can go two or three miles.
For me, back in Sydney, it was just being there and going out and beating Alexander Karelin, 13-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist. It was everything for me.
You just try to make the best decisions you can. You just take life as it comes to you and do your best.
Olympic athletes are a different breed. We're not dealing with million-dollar contracts. We don't do the sport for those deals. We do the sport because we love the challenge, the battle. We love to be an American.
People in my life have either supported me or doubted me. The only people I hear are the doubters. So, for me, I look at life, and I don't feel like I have anything to prove, but I have an opportunity.
People consider me a hero, but I turn around and look at the military people overseas. They're the freaking heroes. They're the ones putting their lives on the line for America.
As the youngest of nine on a dairy farm, life was never easy. We'd get up and milk, haul hay, change the pipe, then go to school, wrestling practice, and come home and milk all over again.