Thomas Brands

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Thomas Brands (born April 9, 1968 in Omaha / Nebraska ) is a former American wrestler . In 1996 he became Olympic featherweight champion (free style) in Atlanta .

Career

Tom Brands grew up with his twin brother Terry Brands in Sheldon, Iowa . Both started wrestling there in 1980 . In the youth field, Tom Brands Iowa won several championships in the free style, the style he wrestled exclusively. After high school, he attended the University of Iowa. There he found one of the best American coaches in the former 1972 Olympic champion Dan Gable , who made him a world-class freestyle wrestler.

Tom Brands studied physics at the University of Iowa, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in physical education .

As a student, he won the NCAA Division I Collegiate Championships three times in a row from 1990 to 1992; that corresponds to the US student master. These championship titles are very important in the USA because a large number of US athletes are trained at universities.

In addition, Tom Brands wrestled for the Foxcatcher Wrestling Club, one of the leading American wrestling clubs sponsored by millionaire John du Pont. He was for this club from 1993 to 1996 four times in a row USA champion of the AAU (Amateur Athletes Union). The cooperation with this club came to an abrupt end in 1996 when John du Pont shot and killed Olympic champion David Schultz , who was coach of the Foxcatchers.

Tom Brands first attracted attention in the international sector at the 1993 World Cup in Toronto. As an internationally unknown wrestler, he immediately won the world champion featherweight title in Toronto . In a final fight that was over and over again, he defeated Cuban Lazaro Reynoso just on points. In general, Tom Brands was characterized by his uncompromising fighting style. He spared neither the opponent nor even less himself. At the same world championship his twin brother Terry also won the world title in bantamweight.

Nevertheless, he did not succeed in placing himself in the front field again at the World Championships in Istanbul in 1994 and in Atlanta in 1995. His opponents now knew him and adjusted to him. In Istanbul, Tom was 11th and in Atlanta 9th. In 1995 he was able to achieve another great success with winning the title at the Pan American Games in Mar del Plata.

At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta , Tom Brands was not necessarily a favorite due to the performance in the 1994 and 1995 World Championships. But he found his uncompromising style back in Atlanta and defeated Abbas Haj Kenari from Iran with 3-0 points, Sergei Smal from Belarus with 5-0 points, after a bye in the 3rd round Magomed Azizow from Russia with 4 : 1 points and in the final superior to South Korean Jang Jae-Sung with 7: 0 points. So he only had to hand over a single technical point during the entire tournament. His Olympic victory was therefore more than deserved.

After these games, Tom Brands ended his international wrestling career. He became an assistant coach at the Hawkeye Wrestling Club and head coach at the University of Iowa. In 2004 he was also the head coach of the US Olympic team of freestyle wrestlers.

International success

(OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, F = free style, F = featherweight, back then up to 62 kg body weight)

swell

  • Trade journal Der Ringer , numbers: 9/1993, pages 5 to 7, 9/1994, pages 6 to 8, 9/1995, pages 5 to 8, 9/1996, pages 11 to 15
  • Website of the Institute for Applied Training Sciences at the University of Leipzig

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Brands, Thomas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Brands, Tom
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American wrestler
DATE OF BIRTH April 9, 1968
PLACE OF BIRTH Omaha , Nebraska