John Smith (wrestler)
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Full name | John William Smith | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | August 9, 1965 Del City, Oklahoma, U.S. | (age 56)|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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John William Smith (born August 9, 1965)[1] is an American folkstyle and freestyle wrestler and coach. Considered to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, Smith is a two-time NCAA Division I national champion, and a six-time world level champion with two Olympic Championships and four World Wrestling Championships.
As of to date, Smith has won more World and Olympic gold medals in wrestling than any other American.[2]
Wrestling career[]
College[]
Smith attended Oklahoma State University, where he competed in folkstyle wrestling. At Oklahoma State University, he became an NCAA Division I national runner-up, and a two-time national champion. Smith's college career record was 154-7-2.
International[]
Beginning in his teenage years, Smith competed internationally in freestyle wrestling. Highlights of his career include four UWW world gold medals, and two Olympic gold medals. At the Senior level (ages 20 and up) his international freestyle wrestling record was 100-5. He won 6 consecutive world championships as a competitor.[3]
Coaching career[]
Smith became the head wrestling coach at Oklahoma State University in 1991. During his tenure, Oklahoma State University won five NCAA Division I national team titles, with titles coming in 1994, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. As of 2020, his overall dual meet record was 439-65-6.[4] He had also coached 32 NCAA Division I individual national champions, and coached his wrestlers to 140 All-America honors.[5]
Awards and honors[]
- 1992
- 1991
World Wrestling Championships
Pan American Games
Pan American Championships
- 1990
World Wrestling Championships
Grand Masters of Olympic Wrestling
- UWW Master of Technique award winner
- Amateur Athletic Union James E. Sullivan Award winner
- 1989
World Wrestling Championships
- 1988
- 1987
World Wrestling Championships
Pan American Games
Pan American Championships
NCAA Division I
Big Eight Conference
- 1986
- 1985
Other honors[]
- Smith was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1997.
- The high school Smith graduated from, Del City High School in Oklahoma, named its field house after him.
- Smith has a wrestling move named after him, the John Smith single.
Family[]
Smith's older brother Lee Roy Smith and younger brother Pat Smith are NCAA Division I national champions. Smith's youngest brother, Mark, was also a successful NCAA Division I wrestler, having placed in the top five nationally three times. Smith's nephews Mark Perry and Chris Perry are also NCAA Division I national champions. His son, Joe Smith, earned NCAA All-American honors twice while wrestling at Oklahoma State under his coaching.[6] His nephew J. T. Realmuto is an all-star Major League Baseball player for the Philadelphia Phillies.[7]
See also[]
Bibliography[]
- Dellinger, Bob & Doris. 1994. The Cowboys Ride Again. Oklahoma Bylines Inc. ISBN 978-1-882336-04-3
- Zavoral, Nolan. 1997. A Season on the Mat. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-684-84787-0
- Hammond, Jairus K. 2005. The History of Collegiate Wrestling. National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. ISBN 978-0-9765064-0-9
- Moffat, James V. 2007. Wrestlers At The Trials. Exit Zero Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9799051-0-0
- Parrish, Kim D. 2007. Cowboy Up. Oklahoma Heritage Association. ISBN 978-1-885596-61-1
References[]
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "John Smith". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 4, 2016.
- ^ "Jordan Burroughs is named a 2017 Comeback Wrestler of the Year by United World Wrestling".
- ^ "John Smith - 2018-19 Wrestling Coaching Staff - Oklahoma State University". okstate.com. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
- ^ "John Smith". okstate.com.
- ^ "John Smith - 2018-19 Wrestling Coaching Staff - Oklahoma State University". okstate.com. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
External links[]
- 1965 births
- Living people
- American male sport wrestlers
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States in wrestling
- Wrestlers at the 1988 Summer Olympics
- Wrestlers at the 1992 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics
- Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States
- World Wrestling Championships medalists
- Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestlers
- Oklahoma State University
- Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestling coaches
- James E. Sullivan Award recipients
- People from Del City, Oklahoma
- Sportspeople from Oklahoma
- Pan American Games medalists in wrestling
- Wrestlers at the 1987 Pan American Games
- Wrestlers at the 1991 Pan American Games
- Goodwill Games medalists in wrestling
- Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games
- Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games
- Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games
- Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games