Jake Varner shows off his Olympic gold medal after his victory at the London Games. Photo by John Sachs - Tech-fall.com

2012 Olympic freestyle wrestling champion Jake Varner has returned to his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif., and will be making a number of public appearances in the community over the next few days.

Varner claimed the gold medal at 96 kg/211.5 pounds at the ExCel Center in London, England on Sunday, August 12. He currently lives and trains in State College, Pa. This will be the first time that Varner has been to his hometown to meet the community since his victory. 

He arrived in Bakersfield by plane on Wednesday night, where he was greeted by local citizens and members of the local media. Varner attended a private luncheon with some of his local supporters on Thursday.

His public appearances begin with a full schedule on Friday, Sept. 7 and Saturday, Sept. 8.

His day starts on Friday, Sept. 7 at Rio Bravo Greeley School in Bakersfield at 8:00 a.m., a school which Jake attended in his youth. He will speak at a student body assembly there.

Next will be another student body assembly at the 3,500 seat auditorium at Bakersfield High School on Friday afternoon, where Jake was a two-time state wrestling champion, Jake will meet with the students, as well as members of the media after that.

He will be a special honored guest at the football game between Bakersfield High School and Garces High School on Friday night. He will give a pre-game talk to the Bakersfield football team, then will do the official coin flip at the start of the game, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. A commemorative coin has been created for the coin flip, which will be presented to Jake, and other coins have been made as souvenirs for local citizens. A commemorative program has been printed for the game about Jake, and he will be there to meet and greet students and the community during and after the game. 

A major community celebration is scheduled on Saturday, Sept. 8 at Mill Creek Park in Bakersfield, starting at 10:00 a.m., which is open to the public. A number of dignitaries will be there including Mayor Harvey L. Hall and U.S. Congressman Kevin McCarthy. He will be presented with a key to the city. Jake’s high school wrestling coach Andy Varner will also speak at the celebration. 

Next up for Jake is a public appearance at the Costco in Bakersfield, Calif. from 2:00-4:00 p.m. on Saturday, again open to the public. This Costco store, with its manager Tim Tunget, helped raise money to send Jake’s family to London to support him at the Olympics. A jewelry store in Bakersfield has designed a special ring to present to Jake at this appearance.

Varner will be a special guest at the Class A Advanced minor league baseball playoff game hosted by the Bakersfield Blaze. The game starts at 7:15 p.m. at Sam Lynn Ballpark. Varner will throw out the first pitch at the game, then meet and greet the fans there.

The community has given Jake Varner tremendous support prior to and after the Olympics. Lamar Billboard Company created three different video billboards congratulating Jake Varner after his victory in London, and they appeared throughout the city for many days. 

“The principal at Bakersfield High School David Reese and Tim Tunget from Costco got together to set up the Friday and Saturday appearances. They pulled it all together. We have been along for the ride,” said Jake’s father Steve Varner.

The family is grateful to the community for all of its efforts, including its extensive fundraising project which allowed the Varner family to travel to and attend the Olympic Games.

“The support of the community to get Jake’s family to London was unbelievable. We couldn’t have done it without the support of the people of Bakersfield and Kern County. They got us there to support him. This is a way to give back and thank them. We couldn’t be more thankful. They stepped up and Jake delivered for them,” said Steve Varner.