From Milo to Rulon: from beating an "unbeatable" foe to coming back from a tragic injury, American wrestler Rulon Gardner credits both faith and family for his persistence in getting the job done

New American, The, June 28, 2004 by William Norman Grigg

Shortly after emerging practically unscathed from the motorcycle wreck, Rulon dislocated his right wrist and several fingers in a pickup basketball game. At the national championships a few days later he lost to Army Staff Sergeant Dremiel Breyers. To get back to the Olympics, Rulon had to win a challenge tournament in May, and then defeat Breyers (who had earned a bye in the tournament) in a best of-three series on the following day.

Shortly before the challenge tournament at Indianapolis's RCA Dome, Rulon had surgeons remove the three pins that had been inserted into his injured wrist. Competing with a bandaged wrist, Rulon easily won his first two matches while Sgt. Breyers prepared for the next day's two-out-of-three tilt.

Before their first match, Gardner and Breyers--friendly but determined rivals--knelt together at the side of the mat to pray. Rulon took the first match in overtime, 2-1. Breyers seized an early advantage in the second bout, turning Rulon's back to the mat to score a single point--only to have Rulon respond by flipping Bryers to tie the score. Once again, the competition went into overtime, and Rulon, just as he had with Karelin, forced Breyers to break a clinch, scoring the decisive point and earning a return trip to the Olympics in Athens. Sgt. Breyers promised to accompany him as a training partner "to help him get another medal and have our flag raised."

"In the last two months," commented Rulon after winning an Olympic berth, "I thought it was pretty well virtually impossible, more than winning the first gold medal. That's about the only way I can describe what I've been through for the last few years--it's a miracle just to be here."

Rulon credits his faith in God and his solid family background for his strength of character. And like Milo of old, he insists that his remarkable wrestling success is a product of his farm upbringing. "Growing up on the farm like I did," he observes, "[I learned] if you're going to start a job, you go out and finish the job--you stay out there until it is done."