Dan Gable

He attended Iowa State and was a NCAA Division I national runner-up and two-time national champion, ending with a career record of 117–1. He won gold medals at the 1971 Tblisi (Georgia) Tournament, the 1971 world championships, and the 1972 Olympic Games.

He was an assistant coach at Iowa, and took over as head coach from Gary Kurdelmeier in August 1976. From 1976 to 1997, he was the head wrestling coach until his retirement. His teams compiled a dual meet record of 355–21–5. He coached 152 all-Americans, 45 national champions, 106 Big Ten Champions and 12 Olympians, including eight medalists. His teams won 21 Big Ten Conference championships, and 15 NCAA Division I titles. He never lost a Big Ten championship in his 21 seasons.

He was the head coach of three Olympic teams and six world teams.

In 2020, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

HEAD COACH SEASONS

1976-1977 Wrestling
1977-1978 Wrestling
1978-1979 Wrestling
1979-1980 Wrestling
1980-1981 Wrestling
1981-1982 Wrestling
1982-1983 Wrestling
1983-1984 Wrestling
1984-1985 Wrestling
1985-1986 Wrestling

1986-1987 Wrestling
1987-1988 Wrestling
1988-1989 Wrestling
1989-1990 Wrestling
1990-1991 Wrestling
1991-1992 Wrestling
1992-1993 Wrestling
1993-1994 Wrestling
1994-1995 Wrestling
1995-1996 Wrestling

1996-1997 Wrestling

VIDEOS

Dan Gable Interview: ALL ACCESS

Gable Receives Presidential Medal Of Freedom

Dan Gable - Sports Century Full Documentary

Dan Gable - Motivational Speaker

BOOKS and MOVIES

A Wrestling Life 2: More Inspiring Stories of Dan Gable (3/15/2018)
What does it take to be an Olympic gold medalist and to coach a collegiate team to 15 NCAA titles? In A Wrestling Life: The Inspiring Stories of Dan Gable, famed wrestler and wrestling coach Dan Gable tells engaging and inspiring stories of his childhood in Waterloo, Iowa; overcoming the murder of his sister as a teenager; his sports career from swimming as a young boy, to his earliest wrestling matches, through the 1972 Olympics; coaching at the University of Iowa from the Banachs to the Brands; life-changing friendships he made along the way; and tales of his family life off the mat. A celebration of determination, teamwork, and the persevering human spirit, A Wrestling Life captures Gable's methods and philosophies for reaching individual greatness as well as the incredible amount of fulfillment and satisfaction that comes from working as part of a team.

A Wrestling Life: The Inspiring Stories of Dan Gable (6/9/2015)
What does it take to be an Olympic gold medalist and to coach a collegiate team to 15 NCAA titles? In A Wrestling Life: The Inspiring Stories of Dan Gable, famed wrestler and wrestling coach Dan Gable tells engaging and inspiring stories of his childhood in Waterloo, Iowa; overcoming the murder of his sister as a teenager; his sports career from swimming as a young boy, to his earliest wrestling matches, through the 1972 Olympics; coaching at the University of Iowa from the Banachs to the Brands; life-changing friendships he made along the way; and tales of his family life off the mat. A celebration of determination, teamwork, and the persevering human spirit, A Wrestling Life captures Gable's methods and philosophies for reaching individual greatness as well as the incredible amount of fulfillment and satisfaction that comes from working as part of a team.

Dan Gable's Wrestling Essentials DVD (7/27/2010)
For instruction in the most vital wrestling moves and techniques, legendary coach and wrestler Dan Gable has put together the Dan Gable Wrestling Essentials DVD.

In this DVD, Gable uses live action footage to present his expert instruction, tips, and insights. Wrestling's master technician provides highly skilled demonstrations by world-class wrestlers to show you the techniques used most successfully in matches.

A Season on the Mat: Dan Gable and the Pursuit of Perfection (1/9/2007)
A Season on the Mat chronicles the dramatic 1996-97 season, in which Gable led his team -- far from his most talented -- to a record-breaking performance at the national championship, at which it scored the most points in collegiate wrestling history. Zavoral takes the reader behind the scenes into the stifling heat of the wrestling room, where young men from places like Rock Falls, Illinois, or Philip, South Dakota, sacrifice everything they have just to be a part of the Hawkeye program.

Coaching Wrestling Successfully (9/28/1998)
Dan Gable redefined the term wrestling champion, setting a new standard of excellence for athletes and coaches. Defeated only once throughout his high school and college wrestling careers and unscored upon in his 1972 Olympic gold medal performance, Gable didn't just win on the mat, he dominated his opponents in a relentless, physical style.

Gable brought that same competitive toughness and determination to mastering coaching-and the championships came, year after year. In the 21 seasons he was head coach, his University of Iowa teams won 15 national championships and 21 Big Ten championships.

Now, in Coaching Wrestling Successfully, Gable presents the blueprint to becoming a wrestling champion. He covers every facet of his formula for success-a guiding philosophy, proven motivational tools, guidelines for proper nutrition and weight control, daily and year-round practice plans, effective instructional methods, correct wrestling technique, and winning match strategies.

Kings of the mat: The story of the rise of wrestling at the University of Iowa (1/1/1977)
Written by former wrestler Chuck Yagla