- [Narrator] One of thegreatest wrestlers of all time,

Dan Gable has forged a legacy of success

for more than half a century.

A champion as an athlete and a coach,

his achievements include numerous national

and international titles,including Olympic gold.

Dan has pushed through setbacks

and brought others alongin his rise to success.

- I feel like every day,

I need to make accomplishments in my life.

Every day, I need to help people

that are associated with me, or my sport,

or my profession, or my family.

I always look forward tosomething all the time.

- [Narrator] Dan grewup in Waterloo, Iowa.

Early on, it was clearhe was a gifted athlete

who loved to compete and win.

By junior high he'd picked upwrestling among other sports.

He often came out on top,always making his parents proud.

- My dad was at wrestling practice,

at football games, practice.

I don't mean just the games, but I mean,

my dad came to every practice.

I didn't really know otherpeople didn't have that stuff.

- [Narrator] As proud as his parents were,

they made sure he and his sister knew

that the most important things in life

are family and faith in Jesus Christ.

- I don't ever remembernot having a strong faith.

And what that does foryou is it gives you hope.

It gives you more discipline.

- [Narrator] As asophomore in high school,

Dan's faith would be bolsteredwhen he heard Bob Richards,

famed Olympic gold medalist and minister,

speak at his school.

Later he started readingReverend Richard's book,

Heart of a Champion.

- It said it may sound strange

but many champions aremade champions by setbacks.

He says they are championsbecause they've been hurt.

- [Narrator] Dan had no idea the hurt

that would push him togreatness, was weeks away.

Dan and his parents wereaway for the weekend.

His dad standing in a phonebooth had just gotten news

that Dan's 19 year old sister, Diane,

was brutally raped andmurdered in the family's home.

- My dad let's go on thephone and it dangles.

And he looked over to my mom

and he just said, she's not alive.

- [Narrator] Determined not to let

his sister's loss definehim, Dan turned to his faith,

again, inspired byReverend Richard's book.

- And when I went back to this book,

it wasn't just about you know,performance in athletics.

It was all about faith.

You know, and it's awhoa, this is helping me.

This is really helping me.

Sometimes in life, Godgives us a difficulty

in order to bring out the fighting spirit.

- [Narrator] And fight Dan would.

After that, wrestlingbecame more than a sport.

It was an escape from his pain

and a rallying point for his family.

He won the state championship that year.

Even then, he kept pushing himself.

- Our high school teamis playing basketball

in the state finals.

All of a sudden about halfwaythrough the basketball game,

I looked at the guys, andsay, guys I'm, you know,

I'm going to go down, I need to work out.

And they looked at me like, whoa,

you just won the statechampionship a week ago,

can't you take time off a little bit?

And I said, I'm gettingready for next year.

- [Narrator] Dan would go onto a seven year winning streak

that included 181 wins, zero losses,

three high school state championships,

and three NCAA titleswrestling for Iowa state.

His streak came to an end his senior year

in the final meet forthe NCAA championship

and his college career, whenhe lost to Larry Owings.

- You fall into this sense of wellbeing.

And yet, you're not quite as hungry,

you're more confident,you're over-confident.

- [Announcer] Munich, 1972.

- [Narrator] Dan wouldtake that lesson with him

into the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

He won all six of his matches

without surrendering a single point,

winning the gold for his country.

At the medal ceremony,

- All of a sudden my headfilled full of dreams,

filled full of my past,

and my sister just jumped right in there.

She was right there and itwas like, whoa, there she is.

And I don't really rememberthe anthem because of that.

I was more focused on herand her smile, I guess

so that was, that was big.

- [Narrator] After his Olympic win,

Dan poured his energyand passion into others,

as head coach of the University of Iowa,

where he led the Hawkeyesto 15 NCAA titles.

He also got the nod as headcoach in three Olympics.

Helping his wrestlers to win 13 medals,

including eight gold.

By his retirement at age 49 in 1997,

he'd become one of the mostrespected and beloved figures

in the wrestling world.

For teaching athletes not justhow to win, but how to live.

- Anybody in the worldthat really has the ability

to give something to somebody,which everybody does,

don't wait around, you know?

Get out there, utilize your talents,

and help other people to be good.

- [Narrator] Dan stillplays a prominent role

in the world of wrestling.

He's also written threebooks and played himself

in the 2020 featurefilm, The Last Champion.

- [Man] Danny Mack Gable

is one of the greatest collegiate athletes

and coaches of the 20th century.

- [Narrator] Then laterthat year in December,

Dan joined a distinguishedlist of Americans

as a recipient of thePresidential Medal of Freedom,

awarded to Americans who'vemade outstanding contributions

to society and culture.

- The success one has with others

is more important than thesuccess you have as yourself.

- [Narrator] Dan's encouragement to others

is to make the best use of the time

and talents God has given them.

No matter what life throws at them.

- It starts with faith andit never ends with faith.

The more you can be successful

in every great area of your life,

the more likely you're goingto be successful in everything.