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2008: Henry Cejudo was the only wrestler to win gold in Beijing and also became the youngest American wrestler to ever win an Olympic gold medal at the age of 21.
CLICK PLAY TO WATCH NCAA WRESTLING LEGEND CAEL SANDERSON put the finishing touches on his gold medal performance at
the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
2004 The
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returned to their ancient roots in Athens, Greece with the motto Welcome Home. For the first time, major broadcasters were allowed to serve video coverage of the Olympics over the Internet. The total number of participating nations increased from 199 to 202. Wrestling made history at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the Ano Liossia Olympic Hall.
2004 Summer Olympic Games
addition to the traditional men's freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, for the first time ever, women's freestyle became part of the Olympic program.
In
Eui-Jae Moon of South Korea to win an Olympic gold medal at 185 pounds.
Although it was his first Olympics, Cael Sanderson surprised no one when he became the lone gold medalist for the United States in Athens. Already considered one of the greatest college wrestlers of all time, Sanderson had accomplished what other wrestlers had barely dreamed of—four undefeated seasons of collegiate wrestling, four NCAA championships and four Outstanding Wrestler awards. By the time his collegiate career concluded, Sanderson had set an unprecedented record that may never be equaled. Yet it was at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens that Sanderson reached the highest pinnacle of the sport, defeating
2008 A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 nations competed in 28 sports and 302 events in the 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, in Beijing. There were 43 new world records and 132 new Olympic records set at the 2008 Games. An unprecedented 86 countries won at least one medal during the Games. The Beijing Organizing Committee reported after the
bad as many had feared beforehand, despite being the worst in Olympics history. Wrestling competition in Beijing was at the China Agricultural University Gymnasium and, once again, only one wrestler from the United States left the competition with a gold medal hanging around his neck.
Games that total spending was "generally as much as that of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games," which was about $15 billion. They went on to claim that surplus revenues from the Games would exceed the original target of $16 million. Other sources, however, estimated that approximately $40 billion had been spent on the Games, making them the most expensive by a wide margin. The 2008 Olympic Games have been generally accepted by the world's media as a logistical success. Many of the worst fears about the Games failed to materialize: no terrorists struck Beijing; no athlete protested at the podium; and the air quality—due largely to favorable conditions—was not as
Henry Cejudo and his brother Angel were so impressive in high school competition in Arizona that the national developmental coach for USA Wrestling invited both to attend the resident freestyle program at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Henry, who had won two state championships in Arizona, completed his high school education while attending the program and added two more state titles to his resumé. Upon graduation, he decided to forego collegiate wrestling in order to concentrate on freestyle. He began training full time at the Olympic Training Center to prepare for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Cejudo qualified for the Olympics at 121 pounds and scored three come-from-behind wins to advance to the gold medal match. There he faced Japanese wrestler Tomohiro Matsunaga, and for the first time in the tournament was able to win the first two periods to become the youngest American wrestler to ever win an Olympic gold medal at the age of 21.
THE GOLD STANDARD NATIONAL WRESTLING HALL OF FAME & MUSEUM | 13
CEJUDO
