Benjamin Peterson

Benjamin "Ben" Lee Peterson (born June 27, 1950 in Cumberland , Barron County , Wisconsin ) is a retired American wrestler.

Career

Ben Peterson grew up with his two year older brother John in Comstock , Wisconsin . He learned wrestling in high school and at Iowa State University . His trainer there was Harold Nichols. At the US University Wrestling, he won the NCAA (American University Sports Association) Division I title twice and the NCAA Division I All American title three times. Through the qualification of the AAU (American Athletes Union) he got a start at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich , where he was a convincing Olympic champion in light heavyweight (up to 90 kg body weight), freestyle, in his first major international tournament . His brother John won the silver medal one weight class lower. At the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal both turned the result around, because now Ben won a silver medal, while John became Olympic champion. Politics prevented a third start at the Olympic Games in 1980.

Since 1980 he has trained young wrestlers at Maranatha Baptist Bible College in Watertown , Wisconsin . In 1985 one of his students, Mike Houck , became world champion in Greco-Roman wrestling.

International success

(OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, F = freestyle, Hs = light heavyweight, up to 90 kg body weight, S = heavyweight, up to 100 kg body weight)

• 1972, gold medal , OS in Munich , F, Hs, with victories over Pawel Kurczewski, Poland , Raul Garcia, Mexico , Barbaro Morgan, Cuba , Reza Hosianikhorami, Iran , Rusi Petrow, Bulgaria and a draw against Gennadi Strachow , USSR ;
• 1973, 3rd place , World Cup in Tehran , F, Hs, with victories over Hosianikhorami, Dimo ​​Kostow, Bulgaria, Dimitrios Spiridopoulos, Greece, Károly Bajkó , Hungary and defeats against Lewan Tediaschwili , USSR and Horst Stottmeister , GDR ;
• 1975, 5th place , World Championship in Minsk , F, S, with victories against Petr Drozda, Czechoslovakia , Max Schröger, FRG, Claude Pillon, Canada and defeats against Dimo ​​Kostow and Harald Büttner , GDR;
• 1976, silver medal , OS in Montreal , F, Hs, with victories over Shukri Akhmedov , Bulgaria, Stelică Morcov , Romania , Barbaro Morgan, Salad Ud-Din, Pakistan , Yoshioka Yatsu, Japan , Horst Stottmeister and one defeat against Levan Tediaschwili, USSR ;
• 1978, 5th place , World Cup in Mexico City , F, Hs, with victories over Géza Molnar, Hungary, Hassan Kolahi, Iran, Peter Neumair , FRG and defeats against Iwan Guinow, Bulgaria and Uwe Neupert , GDR

Web links

Commons : Benjamin Peterson  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Benjamin Peterson's profile at the Institute for Applied Exercise Science
• Benjamin Peterson in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )