Former Husker Gardner to be Inducted into National Wrestling Hall of Fame

Responsible for one of the greatest Olympic upsets of all-time, former Husker wrestler Rulon Gardner has been chosen as one of four  2010 inductees into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum.

Gardner's shining moment came in the 2000 Olympics, when he shocked the sports world with a 1-0 overtime victory over Russia's Alexander Karelin in the Greco-Roman super heavyweight gold medal match. Karelin was a three-time Olympic gold medalist and had not lost an international match in 13 years, including the last six without giving up a point. Gardner's upset helped the former Husker earn numerous prestigious honors, including the 2001 Jesse Owens Award, a 2001 ESPY (U.S. Male Olympic Athlete of the Year) and the 2001 United States Olympic Committee's Sportsman of the Year honor.

At Nebraska, Gardner was a 1993 All-American after he finished fourth in the heavyweight division at the NCAA Championships, helping the Huskers to a third-place team finish. A native of Afton, Wyo., Gardner lettered two seasons for the Big Red after he transferred to Nebraska from Ricks Junior College in Rexburg, Idaho, where he was an NJCAA national champion (1991) and two-time All-American (1990-91).

Along with his 2000 Olympic gold medal, Gardner was a four-time U.S. Nationals Greco-Roman champion (1995, 1997, 2000 and 2001), earned bronze at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and won international titles at the 1996 World Cup, the 1998 and 2000 Pan American Games and the 2001 World Championships. He most recently contributed as a television analyst for NBA during the 2008 Olympics.

"I want to thank our Board of Governors and the various screening and selection committees involved in the six-month process that determines our honorees for induction. This is another exceptional class of inductees whose merits transcend our sports impact upon society," said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum.

David Auble, Russell Camilleri and Lincoln McIlravy join Gardner in the 2010 class, which will be inducted during the Honors Weekend Banquet and Induction Ceremony in Stillwater, Oklahoma, June 4-5, 2010. The Hall of Fame's Board of Governors approved this year's selections at its semi-annual meeting in Kansas City last week.