Special Sub-Topic: 1972 Olympics: Freestyle Wrestling Click Here To Play: 1972 Olympics: Freestyle Wrestling

The USA wrestling team had one of its greatest performances by winning what individual medals?

3 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze. The USA had last won individual Gold in 1960 during the Rome Games.

The dominant Soviet team won how many Gold medals in 1972?

Five. They could have won 7, but two of their wrestlers finished as runner-up to the Americans.

What was the only other nation to have individual wrestlers win Gold in 1972?

Japan. Japanese wrestlers Kiyomi Kato and Hideaki Yanagida won Gold in the flyweight and bantamweight classes, continuing their nation's strong tradition of success in the lower weight classes.

In the first round, Super Heavyweights Chris Taylor of the USA and 5-time World and Olympic champion Alexander Medved of the USSR squared off. What was the result of that match?

Medved won by disputed decision. Medved won a disputed decision when the referee penalized Taylor for passivity. The wrestling committee rejected the American protest, but banned the referee from officiating anymore matches.

Who set a record for being the heaviest wrestler in Olympic history in 1972?

Chris Taylor. Taylor was part of the Super Heavyweight division. He broke the neck of West Germany's Wilfried Dietrich during their Olympic match. Taylor also won the NCAA heavyweight championship while wrestling for Iowa State University.

Dan Gable of the USA won Gold in the lightweight division. In doing so, what unprecedented feat did he accomplish?

He did not allow any opponent to score a point. Gable shut out of his opponents, which had never happened before. He did defeat his West German opponent by a score of 20-0. He won Gold despite a serious knee injury, and overcame a serious gash on his forehead in the opening round.

Soviet wrestler Ivan Yarigan accomplished an extrordinary feat on his way to winning Gold in the heavyweight division. What was it?

Pinned all seven opponents in less than 18 minutes total time. Yarigan also won Greco-Roman Gold, and in 1976 won freestyle Gold again.

Which pair of American brothers won Gold and Silver in 1972, then reversed the medals won in 1976?

Ben and John Peterson. Ben won Gold in 1972, Silver in 1976, while John had Silver in 1972 and Gold in 1976. Richard Sanders won Silver in 1972 and 1968; Jimmy Carr was a 17-year old member of the 1972 team. The Banach brothers both won Gold in 1984.

Which American wrestler won Gold in 1972 by defeating three opponents on the final day of competition?

Wayne Wells. Wells was also World Champion in 1970. Hellickson won Silver in 1976, and Behm in 1968. Kemp was World Champion several times, but never won Olympic Gold.

Which Soviet wrestler prevented John Peterson from winning Gold in 1972, then did the same to Ben in 1976?

Levan Tediashvili. Tediashvili won Gold at middleweight in 1972, and lightheavyweight in 1976. Dmietrev won Gold in 1972 in the paperweight division. Strakhov wrestled to a draw with Ben Peterson in 1972. Peterson took the Gold due to his pin of the Bulgarian wrestler. Pinnegan was a lightweight Gold medalist in 1976.