Campbell vs. Sukhbat is the new “Bout of the Week” on USA Wrestling Members-Only website

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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
01/04/2004


USA Wrestling has updated its new "Bout of the Week" on USA Wrestling's Members-Only website    The featured match this week is the Chris Campbell vs. Puntsag Sukhbat bronze-medal match in freestyle wrestling at 90 kg/198 lbs. from the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.    Just today, Campbell was announced as one of the new Distinguished Members of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. His career as a freestyle wrestling was exceptional, and the match against Sukhbat was the final bout of his illustrious career.    You can look at Chris Campbell's career in two major phases. Early in his career, when he was competing at 82 kg/180.5 pounds, he was a World Champion and an Olympian. Campbell was a New Jersey high school product who went on the the Univ. of Iowa for his college career. Wrestling for Gary Kurelmeier, Dan Gable and J Robinson, Campbell was one of the best of his era, winning two NCAA titles and a runner-up position.    He went on to excel in freestyle wrestling, and earned a spot on the 1980 U.S. Olympic team. However, Campbell never had a chance to show his stuff, as the U.S. government imposed a boycott of the Moscow Games due to the invasion of Afghanistan.    The next year, in 1981, Campbell reached the top of the world, winning a World gold medal in Skopje, Yugoslavia and was named the Most Technical Wrestler at the tournament. He combined power, speed, technical skill and great intensity on the mats.    Campbell did not get a chance to wrestle at the next Olympic Games, which were held in the United States in Los Angeles in 1984. He dealt with injury problems which prevented him from getting the chance to return to the Olympics. Many believed that Campbell's career was over when he missed out on the Los Angeles opportunity.    He went to law school. He served as a college wrestling coach at a number of campuses. He got a job as an attorney. And then in 1989, Chris Campbell made an amazing comeback.    At the advanced age of 34 years old, Campbell decided to come back to compete at 90 kg/198 lbs., a spot held on Team USA by World medalist Jim Scherr. Campbell quickly climbed to No. 2 in the United States that season, losing to Scherr at the U.S. Nationals and World Team Trials.    In 1990, Campbell beat Scherr, and went to the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, where he won a silver medal, losing only to superstar Makharbek Khadartsev of the Soviet Union in the finals. Scherr left competitive wrestling in 1991 to become the Executive Director of USA Wrestling, and Campbell held on to his position the rest of the quadrennium. When Campbell made the 1992 Olympic Team, he was 37 years old, and became a major story of those Olympic Games.    In Barcelona, Campbell drew Khadartsev in the first match, losing a 7-0 bout. Khadartsev went on to win the Olympic gold medal, while Campbell was thrown back into the field. Winning three straight bouts against some very talented opponents, Campbell earned a spot in the bronze-medal match against Sukhbat. A victory would make Campbell the oldest-known American wrestling medalist ever.    Sukhbat was a veteran wrestler, competing in his second Olympic Games. At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, Sukhbat placed fifth. He did not wrestle at the World Championships in the next three years (1989-91), but won Asian titles in 1989, 1990 and 1992. At 27 years old, Sukhbat was at the prime of his career, while Campbell was well past what was considered the age of a wrestling star.    When Campbell emerged with an overtime win, he became one of the most inspiring Olympians on the U.S. team in all sports. To win a medal in a contact sport at 37 years old, Campbell showed the world that hard work, skill and dedication could overcome the challenge of age.    Campbell retired after winning this bronze medal. Sukhbat never reached another major achievement in wrestling, competing at one more Asian Games as well as the 1995 World Championships in New York City, falling short of the medal rounds both times. His career ended without a World-level medal.    Campbell remained active in sports, serving on the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Wrestling Board of Directors. For over a year, he was the Executive Director of USA Boxing, putting his business and athletic experience to work for another sport. Since then, Campbell has returned to his legal career, and is now working in a law firm in California.    Campbell will not only be remembered as a great athlete, but also a very active individual who at times was a bit controversial, colorful and outspoken. He was a vegetarian, when most athletes never even considered that kind of diet for sports. He was never afraid to give his opinion, not only about wrestling but other issues, nor was he afraid to stand up for what he believed. When Chris Campbell puts his mind to something, he has always had the same intensity and commitment that he showed as a champion wrestler.     This popular feature will be changed on a regular basis, allowing members to enjoy many of the greatest matches in wrestling history.     Posted in the archive section of the Members Only web page was the Garrett Lowney vs. Gogi Koguachvili men's Greco-Roman match from the 2000 Olympic Games. Many other entertaining and historic matches are in the archive section for the Bout of the Week.     USA Wrestling has done a complete redesign and expansion of its Members-Only website, providing all USA Wrestling members with an impressive new resource stocked with interactive learning tools and entertaining features.     The web page is still available for all to view and sample for a short time. This will allow those not familiar with the site to enjoy the contents and become familiar with the features.    Once the sampling period ends, this on-line resource is available free of charge only to current members of USA Wrestling, one of the most exciting benefits of joining the organization. At that time, USA Wrestling members will need to enter the number from their 2004-05 membership card into an entry form, and the exciting new Members-Only page will become available to them.    RECENT BOUTS OF THE WEEK PLACED IN ARCHIVE  2000 Garrett Lowney vs. Gogi Koguachvili men's Greco-Roman match  1988 Randy Lewis vs. Stepan Sarkissian men's freestyle match  1996 Kurt Angle vs. Abbas Jadidi men's freestyle match  1990 Chris Wilson vs. Arsen Fadzeav men's freestyle match  1990 John Smith vs. Stepan Sarkissian men's freestyle match  2004 Sunkist Kids International Open men's Greco-Roman gold-medal matches  2004 Sunkist Kids International Open men's freestyle gold-medal matches  1990 Bill Scherr vs. Alexei Golovko men's freestyle match  2004 Cael Sanderson vs. Moon Eui Jae men's freestyle match  2004 Rulon Gardner Olympic semifinals and finals men's Greco-Roman feature  2004 Sara McMann vs. Stavroula Zygouri women's freestyle match  2004 Toccara Montgomery vs. Kristie Marano women's freestyle match  2004 Joe Williams vs. Joe Heskett men's freestyle match  2004 Eric Guerrero vs. Mike Zadick men's freestyle match  2004 Cael Sanderson vs. Lee Fullhart men's freestyle match  2004 Dennis Hall vs. Brandon Paulson men's Greco-Roman match  1996 Townsend Saunders vs. Pat Santoro men's freestyle match  1988 Mark Fuller vs. T.J. Jones men's Greco-Roman match  1988 Nate Carr vs. Andre Metzger men's freestyle match  2004 Jared Frayer vs. Eric Larkin men's freestyle match  1987 Bill Scherr vs. Greg Gibson men's freestyle match  1992 Dennis Koslowski vs. Andrzej Wronski men's Greco-Roman match  1989 Jim Scherr vs. Makharbek Khadartsev men's freestyle match  2003 Sally Roberts vs. Marianna Sastin women's freestyle match  1996 Melvin Douglas vs. Mike Van Arsdale men's freestyle match  1988 Ike Anderson vs. Buddy Lee men's Greco-Roman match  1996 Tom Brands vs. Jang Jae-Sung men's freestyle match  2004 Eric Larkin vs. T.J. Williams men's freestyle match  1992 Rodney Smith vs. Cecilio Rodriguez men's Greco-Roman match  1988 Rico Chiapparelli vs. Lukman Jabrailov men's freestyle match  2003 Kristie Marano vs. Ewelina Pruszko women's frees