Dan Gable Biography

Dan Gable is a former Olympic wrestler and head coach who is often considered to be one of the greatest amateur wrestlers in American history. Born in the small town of Waterloo, he did not devote himself to wrestling with full concentration until the age of 16 when a tragedy took place in the family. While Dan and his parents were away on a fishing trip, his older sister was raped and murdered in the family’s living room. This unfortunate incident changed the course of his life and motivated him to pursue a career in wrestling to make his family proud, including his late sister who he believed was watching him from the skies. He focused on the sport and became famous for having lost only one match in his entire Iowa State University collegiate career. After graduating, Gable undertook an intensive training program and won the 1971 world and Pan-American championships. Later, in his six matches at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Gable did not lose a single point, becoming the first American in 12 years to win a wrestling gold medal. But he became most famous for his tenure as the head coach at the University of Iowa where he was able to win15 NCAA team titles between 1976 and 1997. He dedicated his entire career to wrestling and still remains close to his beloved sport as a wrestling analyst