Painin olympiakultamitali on ehkä kovin saavutus mitä kamppailulajeissa on. Fighter lehdessäkin oli rankattu sijalle #1.
Rulon Gardnerin muut meriitit:
* U.S. Champion in 1995, 1997, and 2001
* James E. Sullivan Award for amateur athlete of the year, 2001
* Gold medal, World Wrestling Championships, 2001
* Jesse Owens Award, 2001
* United States Olympic Committee Sportsman of the Year, 2001
* ESPY award for U.S. Male Olympic athlete of the year, 2001
* Pan American Games champion, 1998
* World Cup Champion, 1996
Noiden lisäksi vielä:
- After the 2000 Olympics he suffered a series of injuries from both a snowmobiling and motorcycle accident. These injuries included an amputated toe and a dislocated wrist, but he still went on to win the U.S. Olympic trials for his weight class and then to compete in the 2004 Summer Olympics. At the 2004 Olympics, he was unable to repeat his 2000 performance, although he did win a bronze medal. After the bronze medal match, he left his shoes on the mat as the traditional symbol of retirement from competitive wrestling.
- Rulon Gardner has had an amazing streak of luck with survival. While in grammar school, Rulon was impaled by an arrow in a show and tell incident. In 2002, Gardner was stranded on a wilderness snowmobile trip and had to have a toe amputated after suffering frostbite. In 2004, He was hit by a car while riding his motorcycle. In February 2007, Gardner and two others crashed a Cirrus SR-22 airplane into Lake Powell, After surviving the impact, he was required to swim in 44 degree Fahrenheit (7 °C) water for over an hour. He survived overnight with two others without shelter or fire in 28 degree Fahrenheit (−2 °C) air temperature. His amazing luck streak continued when a fisherman, out of his usual route, found and picked them up in the morning.
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