Although he had never won a high school state wrestling championship title, Bruce Baumgartner went on to become one of the most highly decorated and dominating wrestlers of the world.

He started his quest for world dominance after completing his collegiate wrestling career at Indiana State University where he was a three-time All-American and a 1982 NCAA champion.

It was in 1982 also that he became a world team member for the first time, winning a bronze medal for the United States at the 1983 World Championship in Kiev, Russia.

But it was at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games that the world began to take notice as he became the Olympic Champion and America's first gold medalist in 60 years of super heavyweight wrestling.

Four years after his silver medal performance at the Seoul Olympics, his gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics put him into the record book as the first American wrestler to ever medal in three consecutive Olympic competitions.

As he approached the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, he shared the record mark of 12 world medals with the legendary Alexandre Medved of the former Soviet Union. Bruce's medal count included two Olympic and three World Championship gold medals.

Prior to the start of wrestling competition in Atlanta, he was selected captain of the USA Olympic Team and honored by carrying the American flag for the opening ceremonies. He went on to a bronze medal performance providing the record-breaking 13 world medals, an honor he now shares with Alexandre Karelin of the Russian Federation. Bruce is one of just eight athletes in American history to medal in four different Olympiads.

Five times he was selected as one of the top 10 finalists for the James E. Sullivan Award to select the outstanding amateur athlete in the United States, winning the honor in 1995.

Bruce started his coaching career as a graduate assistant wrestling coach at Oklahoma State University before moving on to Edinboro University in 1984. He retired as head wrestling coach in 1997 to accept the University's Director of Athletics position. He currently serves as president of USA Wrestling.

For his record-breaking career and recognition as one of the world's all-time wrestling greats, Bruce Baumgartner is honored as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.