Olympic Mat Legend Rulon Gardner Headed For Enshrinement in The Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame on October 25 ; Tickets and Tables On Sale Now 

The star-studded Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2006 to be inducted on October 25 at the Colorado Springs World Arena pays tribute to the city's rich sports and Olympic traditions unlike any other gathering.

Wrestling legend Rulon Gardner is among the inductees.

The seventh annual Hall of Fame dinner and induction ceremonies are presented for the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation by The Gazette and American National Bank.

The athletes and teams to be enshrined have received honors and awards at every level of American sport, and each can trace much of that success to their experiences in Colorado Springs and its sports legacy.

Reservations for the ceremonies and dinner can be made by contacting Jessica Klem at The Sports Corp (719) 634-7333, ext.1009, or by e-mail at: jessica@thesportscorp.org.

Patron Tables (10 seats) are priced at $1000, Official Supporter Tables at $2500, which include a VIP reception with the inductees at 5:30 p.m. as well as complimentary wine at the table.

Individual tickets are priced at $250 for VIP seats that include the reception and wine, or $100 for patron tickets.

A sensational silent auction will begin at 6:00 along with the general reception on the arena floor. Dinner will be served at 7:00.

Olympic Champion and American Hero Rulon Gardner

The Afton, Wyoming, native trained in Colorado Springs for two Olympiads, and earned a stunning gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney when he shocked previously unbeaten Alexsandr Karelin of Russia to win the Greco-Roman Wrestling 130 kg crown. He won a bronze medal in Athens in 2004 before retiring as one of American wrestling's most-revered heroes. His career included the 2001 Jesse Owens Award, the 2001 Olympic Spirit Award and the Sullivan Award. He won gold medals at the 2001 World Championships and three U.S. National Championships. He carried the American flag for the USA delegation at the closing ceremonies of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

His wrestling career began when he was 6 years old at a local camp. Hard work was no problem for Gardner, since he was the youngest of 9 children and was raised on a dairy farm, where he learned to grow crops, milk cows twice a day, feeding, chopping grain and other chores.

After attending Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho, on a wrestling scholarship out of high school, he won a scholarship to wrestle at the University of Nebraska, where he performed for the Huskers and earned a degree in physical education in 1996. He also found that he loved Greco-Roman wrestling, and he began his path to Olympic Gold.

When he symbolically placed his shoes on the mat in Athens after winning his bronze medal in 2004, he ended one of the most brilliant wrestling careers in American history.

He has become a superb motivational speaker and role model for kids, particularly those who want to enjoy wrestling. Since he stepped on the mat in Sydney on the way to his Olympic gold medal against the odds, he has never ceased to give back all he can to his sport and the Olympic Movement.