Wayne Wells
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Birth name | Wayne Turner Wells | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | September 29, 1946 (1946-09-29) (age 77) Abilene, Texas, U.S.[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Home town | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Wayne Turner Wells (born September 29, 1946) is an American wrestler and Olympic champion in freestyle wrestling at the 1972 Olympic Games. Wells was born in Abilene, Texas and grew up in Oklahoma.[2] In 1982, Wells was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.
Wrestling career
While wrestling at the University of Oklahoma, Wayne was a three-time Big Eight champion and a three-time All-American. He was an NCAA runner-up as a junior, he won the NCAA national championship the following year as a senior.
Wells placed fourth at the 1968 Olympic Games. While turning his attention to law school and the foundation of his professional career, Wayne intensified his wrestling efforts. He captured the silver medal at the 1969 World Championships, then returned a year later to win gold at the 1970 World Championships. He won two national freestyle titles and placed second in the Pan American Games. In the months leading up to the 1972 Olympics, he completed his final year of law school, passed the state bar exam, assisted the OU coaching staff, and trained five hours a day. At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, he earned a gold medal in freestyle wrestling in the welterweight class.[3] Wells is also noted for being the first ever Nike signature athlete.[4]
In 1982, Wells was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.[5]
References
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Wayne Wells". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
- ^ Baughman, R. Wayne. (June 22, 2020). Why I love sports: Wayne Wells is a true Oklahoma sports hero. The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
- ^ "1972 Summer Olympics – München, Germany – Wrestling" Archived September 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. databaseOlympics.com. Retrieved September 13, 2008.
- ^ Palmer, Mark. (February 4, 2020). Wayne Wells: Olympic gold medalist, first Nike signature athlete. InterMat Wrestling. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
- ^ "National Wrestling Hall of Fame".
External links
- Wayne Wells at the International Wrestling Database
- Wayne Wells at Olympedia
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- 1904 Charles Ericksen (NOR)
- 1924 Hermann Gehri (SUI)
- 1928 Arvo Haavisto (FIN)
- 1932 Jack van Bebber (USA)
- 1936 Frank Lewis (USA)
- 1948 Yaşar Doğu (TUR)
- 1952 William Smith (USA)
- 1956 Mitsuo Ikeda (JPN)
- 1960 Douglas Blubaugh (USA)
- 1964 İsmail Ogan (TUR)
- 1968 Mahmut Atalay (TUR)
- 1972 Wayne Wells (USA)
- 1976 Jiichiro Date (JPN)
- 1980 Valentin Raychev (BUL)
- 1984 David Schultz (USA)
- 1988 Kenny Monday (USA)
- 1992 Park Jang-soon (KOR)
- 1996 Buvaisar Saitiev (RUS)
- 2000 Brandon Slay (USA)
- 2004 Buvaisar Saitiev (RUS)
- 2008 Buvaisar Saitiev (RUS)
- 2012 Jordan Burroughs (USA)
- 2016 Hassan Yazdani (IRI)
- 2020 Zaurbek Sidakov (ROC)
- 1904: 71.67 kg
- 1924–1936: 72 kg
- 1948–1960: 73 kg
- 1964–1968: 78 kg
- 1972–1996: 74 kg
- 2000: 76 kg
- 2004–present: 74 kg
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