Wrestler Reflects on Win Over Karelin

S Y D N E Y, Australia, Sept. 28 -- Rulon Gardner, seemingly destined to beAmerica’s most improbable star of the Sydney Olympics, celebratedthe night of his life at Michael Johnson’s birthday party — asurprise guest in every sense of the word.

When Gardner left home in Colorado Springs for the Olympics, fewknew this Greco-Roman wrestler with the 54-inch chest and anindefatigable work ethic built on endless hours of labor at hisfamily’s dairy farm.

But when Gardner goes home, he may be in for a surprise nearlyas big as his 1-0 victory over the supposedly unbeatable man ofwrestling, three-time Olympic champion Alexander Karelin of Russia.

The whole nation is going to know, or at least will think itdoes, this 29-year-old with a sharp mind and a pleasant dispositionthat isn’t quite “aw, shucks” but is refreshingly real. The manwho now wears the gold that everybody had conceded to Karelin.

Biggest Upset in the Sport

The man who spoiled Karelin’s tomorrow, then found himself onToday, talking to a country eager to know much more abouthim.

“Even though I didn’t think I was going to win, I was going towork as hard as I could,” Gardner said. “If I didn’t win, fine.But if I did, well, it’s just incredible.”

For those in wrestling, it wasn’t difficult to put Gardner’supset into perspective: it was the biggest in the history of thesport.

Karelin was unbeaten in international competition, a man who hadlost only once, as a 19-year-old in the 1987 Soviet championships.A man who gives up a point every decade or so.

Gardner’s upset landed him an invitation to Johnson’s birthdayparty at Planet Hollywood on Wednesday night — and it possiblyruined Karelin’s retirement party.

Studying a Champion

Karelin was expected to wrestle his way through an unbeaten,unscored-upon tournament as always, get his fourth gold medal fromIOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch and retire comfortably to hisjob as a Russian colonel and a member of parliament.