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Kurt Angle is one of the most decorated superstars in WWE history. Through the Attitude Era, Ruthless Aggression Era, right the way through to the modern day, Angle will be remembered as one of the greats.
Before his WWE career began, Angle was an Olympic athlete. He won a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
How did Kurt Angle win his Olympic gold medal?
Kurt Angle began amateur wrestling when he was just seven years old. He won a plethora of championships during his high-school and college days, and continued his success after leaving college.
In 1995, Angle won his first gold medal a year before the Summer Olympics, the FILA World Wrestling Championship, also in Atlanta, Georgia.
Angle went on to prepare for the Olympics, where he suffered a broken neck in the Trials. It didn't phase him out and he recuperated for five months before going on to win Olympic gold in the heavyweight weight class in his home country.
Angle recently spoke about winning gold at the 1996 Olympics on The Kurt Angle Show with a broken freakin' neck.
"It was my lifelong dream and everything I wanted to do, Angle said. "It’s the only thing I wanted to do, and I set my sights on that from when I was a little kid, and to finally accomplish it 20 years later, it was a huge deal for me. It’s everything I wanted in my life. I said in the NBC interview at the Olympics, ‘If I die tonight, I’d be the happiest man in the world.’ I meant that. I really did. I felt like I could rest now because I did everything I wanted to do." (h/t Wrestling Headlines)
WWE Superstars who have also competed at the Olympics
Kurt Angle is not the only WWE Superstar to have competed at the Olympics. Names such as Mark Henry, Mad Dog Vachon and Ronda Rousey have all competed at the Games.
Mark Henry appeared at the Olympics the same year as Kurt Angle in 1996. Henry competed in weightlifting but sadly sustained a back injury that restricted his true potential.
Mad Dog Vachon competed at the 1948 Olympic Games in amateur wrestling, while Rousey competed at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, winning bronze in Judo.
