During the 1996 Olympic trials, where they decide who’s good enough to represent the country at the games, Kurt Angle severely injured himself. He fractured two of his cervical vertebrae, he herniated two discs, and he pulled four muscles. That’s not something that most people are able to just walk-off, but most people aren’t elite level wrestlers either. Angle still went on to dominate at the trials, and spend the next 5 months trying to recover as much as possible from this devastating injury.
At the ’96 games, Angle was given the decision by the judges after an 8-minute bout that lead to a 1-1 draw between himself and Abbas Jadidi from Iran. Jadadi got the first point, Angle tied things up shortly after, then they duked it out for the remaining 5 minutes with neither man scoring another point. Angle dedicated his victory to the honor of Schultz, the Olympian whom the film Foxcatcher was loosely based on (Many of the facts portrayed in the film are disputed by the Schultz family, but that’s another can of worms.)
Kurt became addicted to Vicodin after needing injections in his neck to help with the pain during his recovery, but he beat that addiction just like he beat Iran’s Olympic dreams into the ground.
He wanted to taste glory again in 2012, but this time it didn’t quite work out.
Hit the next page to find out why, and to see Kurt’s 1996 Olympic performance. Do you agree with the judges?
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