These athletes from The University of Oklahoma were affectionately dubbed as “The Sooners.” In the 1984 Olympic Games, four Olympians brought home five Olympic gold medals. These include Bart Conner who earned two gold medals in parallel bars and the Men’s All-Around in gymnastics; moreover, Wayman Tisdale helped the United States win team gold in men’s basketball.
On the wrestling mat, Mark and Dave Schultz became the first set of American brothers in the same Olympics to win gold medals in freestyle wrestling in the 82 kg and 74 kg categories respectively.
Their life story was made into the feature film Foxcatcher, which starred Channing Tatum as Mark Schultz, and Mark Ruffalo as Dave Schultz. Steve Carell played the villain, wrestling-obsessed millionaire John du Pont.
The Schultz brothers were inducted as Distinguished Members of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 1995 for Mark and 1997 for Dave, the latter of which was inducted posthumously. Their “Schultz Siblings Set Standard” exhibit at the Wrestling Hall of Fame highlights the Schultz brothers’ accomplishments.
To learn more about Olympic gold medalist wrestler Mark Schultz, check out his official Facebook page.
