Rulon Gardner selling Olympic memorabilia to pay off $3.9 million debt
Olympic wrestling legend Rulon Gardner is still struggling financially.
Gardner, who won a gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2000 Olympic games in Sydney, will reportedly be auctioning off his Olympic memorabilia and several other items at a bankruptcy auction on Saturday. The 43-year-old is seeking to pay off a $3.9 million tax debt.
Life after the Olympics has not gone well for Gardner. He filed for bankruptcy two years ago, claiming he was the victim of investment fraud. He battled depression after competing in the Olympics in 2000 and 2004 and his weight later ballooned to 474 pounds. In 2007, Gardner was involved in a plane crash that left him swimming in 44-degree water for an hour and then spending a night in the cold without fire or shelter. He tried to make a wrestling comeback in 2012 but failed to make weight.
Gardner hopes Saturday’s auction will give him a chance to start fresh.
“Before the Olympics in 2000, I didn’t have any stuff,” he told The Associated Press. “Some of that stuff is really cool to have, but, at the end of the day, I have a great wife, and I have a chance to start my life over.”
Gardner is best known for defeating Russian wrestler Aleksandr Karelin at the 2000 Olympics. Before losing to Gardner in the gold medal match, Karelin had been undefeated for 13 years.
