TRIBUTE TO DAN GABLE 
 HON. JAMES A. LEACH OF IOWA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   Thursday, October 20, 1999 
 --- Delivered on the House floor on Wednesday, October 26, and carried live on C-SPAN. 
 MR. LEACH.  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to invite my colleagues attention to the career of Dan Gable, an Iowan who has made a unique contribution to amateur wrestling, and in the process become a hero and role model for athletes in the United States and around the world. 
 Based on his personal record and that of his teams, Dan Gable may well be the greatest competitor and greatest coach in the history of sports. 
 After winning a series of state championships for Waterloo West High School in Waterloo, Iowa, Dan attended Iowa State University, where he won two national collegiate championships. Subsequently he won the prestigious Tblisi Tournament in Russia, captured championships in the Pan-American Games and World Wrestling Tournament.   
 In the 1972 Olympic Games Dan not only won a gold medal but  in the six matches he had to win to do so, he did not give up a single point.  It was the first time an American had ever gone through an entire Olympics unscored upon. 
 Dan concluded his career as a wrestler with an overall record of 307 and 7, with no new worlds to conquer.  He turned to coaching, beginning at the University of Iowa as an assistant and soon taking over as head coach. 
 As head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes, his teams won 15 NCAA team championships in 21 years, including nine straight between 1978 and '86, and three in a row on two subsequent occasions. 
  In listing Iowa University wrestling alongside the New York Yankees and the Green Bay Packers as one of the greatest sports dynasties of the 20th Century, Sports Illustrated said in part:  "As terrifying as Dan Gable was to opposing wrestlers when he won the Olympic gold medal in 1972, he was just as discomfiting matside as he seemed to will his Hawkeyes to total dominance." 
 In the final analysis, Dan Gable's influence cannot be measured simply in wins and losses.  By precept and example he has both taught and embodied the values wrestling preeminently imparts: equality of opportunity, discipline, and respect for self and opponent. 
 There is no more equalitarian circle than a wrestling mat.  While all sports involve God-given athleticism, wrestling eliminates advantages of size and rewards hard work and conditioning.  The talented unschooled athlete simply cannot prevail over the dedicated plugger. 
 Wrestling teaches a healthy respect for the role of limits in life. All experienced wrestlers know the structure of all the moves.  Unlike the professional entertainment that is its namesake, amateur wrestling is devoid of tricks.  Yet within the context of a limited number of moves, each wrestler develops his own style which best reflect his nature, physique, and ability. 
 Just as the successful wrestler must know his limits, he must understand his opponent, modifying his own moves to adjust to his opponent's strengths and weaknesses.  
 Wrestlers learn to live within limits imposed by the exacting discipline of the sport.  A sport that is uniquely individualist yet fosters team comradery, wrestling teaches that -- as in life -- nothing serious can be accomplished without a work ethic. 
 Above anything else, Dan Gable exemplifies the work ethic.  In his career as a wrestler and coach he stands as the apotheosis of American competitive values. 
 On Sunday, November 14, the cable television channel HBO Signature will air a documentary on the career of Dan Gable.  Titled Freestyle: The Victories of Dan Gable, it will introduce millions to this exemplary American athlete.  I highly recommend young people in particular watch this program, with the understanding that excellence is a worthy goal, but it does not come easily.