Posted on Dec 8, 2020
For wrestling icon Dan Gable, Presidential Medal of Freedom is an achievement of a lifetime
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2020/12/07/dan-gable-iowa-wrestling-presidential-medal-freedom-donald-trump/ [login to see] /
In the spring of 1971 Dan Gable and Chris Taylor were training for the '72 Olympics in the old armory at Iowa State. The university had a large set up of weights and other training equipment in there and other indoor track and field stuff, too.
I had signed up for a required PE course, and selected Fencing, which was in the old armory. So, twice a week our class would don the fencing gear and fill in time waiting for our invariably quite late instructor in the armory with the two Olympians. We would goof off in the fencing gear, one guy on the stairs holding off three or four others, three or four guys on the 5 foot tall pole vault landing pad holding off a dozen classmates on the floor, etc.
And sometimes we would just sit and watch those two guys train their butts off.
In the spring of 1971 Dan Gable and Chris Taylor were training for the '72 Olympics in the old armory at Iowa State. The university had a large set up of weights and other training equipment in there and other indoor track and field stuff, too.
I had signed up for a required PE course, and selected Fencing, which was in the old armory. So, twice a week our class would don the fencing gear and fill in time waiting for our invariably quite late instructor in the armory with the two Olympians. We would goof off in the fencing gear, one guy on the stairs holding off three or four others, three or four guys on the 5 foot tall pole vault landing pad holding off a dozen classmates on the floor, etc.
And sometimes we would just sit and watch those two guys train their butts off.
For wrestling icon Dan Gable, Presidential Medal of Freedom is an achievement of a lifetime
Posted from usatoday.com
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Posted 4 y ago
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1SG Steven Imerman
A classmate of mine met Gable at some kind of dinner, and when he mentioned he was from Hampton, Gable asked if he knew John Showalter. My classmate said yes, and Gable said Showalter was the toughest wrestler he ever met. High praise. John was a year ahead of me in a small high school, and was one of the nicest guys in the world besides being a state champion wrestler.
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