Alan Rice elected as Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame

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(National Wrestling Hall of Fame)
02/10/2001


The fourth of the new Distinguished Members to be announced is Olympic athlete and Olympic coach Alan Rice. Each day this week, TheMat.com will profile one of the new Distinguished Members in the Hall's 25th class.    Alan Rice used his versatile wrestling ability to excel in both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. On the world stage, Rice finished fifth in freestyle at the 1954 World Championships and fifth at the Olympics in Greco-Roman. As a wrestler, Rice was a two-time state champion in high school and captured two Big Ten titles for the University of Minnesota. In addition, Rice was elected as the Gophers' team captain as a senior.     Upon graduating in 1950, Rice embarked on his international career, competing at the Pan American Games, the World Championships and the 1956 Olympics. Rice claimed national AAU championships in both freestyle and Greco-Roman in 1956 before founding the highly successful Minnesota Amateur Wrestling Club, which has placed at least one wrestler on everyU.S. Olympic team since 1964.    In 1972, Rice served as coach for the U.S. Greco-Roman Olympic team. Despite winning two conference titles and representing the U.S. in several international competitions, Alan Rice's most significant impact on the sport may have come off the mat. Rice was one of the leading pioneers of Greco-Roman wrestling and his his continued support has helped develop the U.S. wrestlers into world contenders, winning a gold, silver and bronze medal in the 2000 Olympics. For his accomplishments, Rice has also been inducted into the Minnesota Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Helms Hall of Fame.