John Peterson (wrestler)
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| Born | October 22, 1948 (age 76) Cumberland, Wisconsin, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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John Allan Peterson (born October 22, 1948) is an American former wrestler and Olympic champion in freestyle wrestling.[1]
Wrestling career
[edit]Peterson grew up in Comstock, Wisconsin, attending nearby Cumberland High School before graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Stout in 1971.[2][3]
He would place fifth at the 1971 NAIA Men's Wrestling Championships as a collegiate wrestler, before jumping levels the following year to make the 1972 USA freestyle wrestling team, where he earned a silver medal in the 82 kg weight class.[4] At the following 1976 Summer Olympics, he won the gold medal at 82 kg.[5] Peterson's younger brother, Ben Peterson, also competed in both the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics as a freestyle wrestler, winning a gold medal in 1972 and silver medal in 1976.
In 1986, Peterson was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "John Peterson". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on August 2, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
- ^ Bill Stokes "Comstock Salutes Its Heroes" Milwaukee Journal Sentinel September 14, 1972.
- ^ "1978 Inductees. UW-Stout Athletic Hall of Fame". University of Wisconsin – Stout.
- ^ "1972 Summer Olympics – München, Germany – Wrestling". databaseOlympics.com. Archived from the original on September 19, 2008. Retrieved September 13, 2008.
- ^ "1976 Summer Olympics – Montreal, Canada – Wrestling". databaseOlympics.com. Archived from the original on September 17, 2008. Retrieved September 13, 2008.
- ^ John Peterson. National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
External links
[edit]- John Peterson at the International Wrestling Database
- John Peterson at Olympedia
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- 1948 births
- Living people
- Wrestlers at the 1972 Summer Olympics
- Wrestlers at the 1976 Summer Olympics
- American male sport wrestlers
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States in wrestling
- Olympic silver medalists for the United States in wrestling
- Sportspeople from Wisconsin
- People from Cumberland, Wisconsin
- University of Wisconsin–Stout alumni
- World Wrestling Championships medalists
- Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics
- 20th-century American sportsmen