minutes. After falling into the river four times, Rulon was unable to move any farther and he decided to build a shelter and wait for a rescue team. 'Mom didn't raise no killing machine': Olympic gold medalist Rulon Not a chance in the world, he told Washington Post when asked if he believed hed beat Karelin. What Rulon Gardner Has Been Up (and Down) to - Sports Illustrated In 2011, he accepted an offer to appear on American reality TV show The Biggest Loser, in an attempt to shed some of his 474lbs (215kg). When he has free time, he enjoys chess, movies and dogs. He has appeared at corporate events, celebrity golf tournaments, trade shows, and conventions. Gardner scored the upset of the century when he beat Russian Aleksandr Karelin to win gold in 2000. Will Utah remove income tax restrictions, cut sales tax on food? He won three U.S. World Team Trials and the Olympic Trials in both 2000 and 2004. Associated Press. He remained stranded for 18 hours. He was unable to repeat his 2000 performance, coming away with the Bronze medal, and after his match, he placed his shoes in the middle of the mat as a symbol of retirement from competitive wrestling. Rulon Gardner Wrestling Shoes | A Complete Guide To Rulons Gardner was one of the best in the world but he was a big boy . He won four National Open Greco-Roman Championships at heavyweight, finished second four times and third twice. In 2002, two years after his Olympic triumph, he was involved in a snowmobile accident. His opponent in the 130kg Greco-Roman final was 'The Russian bear' Aleksandr Karelin, a three . Day to day, Nolan works for a Digital Marketing Agency. Email: dgmstaff@nwhof.org, Alan and Gloria Rice Greco - Roman Inductee. Rulon Gardner caused one of the greatest upsets in Olympic wrestling history when he won gold at Olympic Games Sydney 2000. Previous School Afton In the morning they were able to flag down a passing fisherman who picked them up. Rulon Gardner cartwheeled into the hearts of all Americans when he upset the seemingly invincible Russian Alexander Karelin at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.