American Wrestling Legend John Smith Named U.S. Head Coach for 1998 Goodwill Games 
   USA Wrestling and the 1998 Goodwill Games have named John Smith as the head coach of the United States wrestling team for this summer's Games in New York. Smith, a two-time Goodwill Games gold medalist, will head up the U.S. team's effort during the wrestling competition on July 25-26 in the historic Theater at Madison Square Garden. The announcement was made April 4 at a Games press briefing held during the 1998 World Cup Wrestling Championships in Smith's hometown of Stillwater, Okla. 
   "As a Goodwill Games alumnus, I am thrilled to once again participate in the Games, and coach the U.S. team against a field of such international talent," said Smith. "The tremendous skill and power of the American, Iranian, Russian and Turkish teams set the stage for an incredible wrestling competition." 
   Considered by many as the greatest freestyle wrestler in U.S. history, Smith won gold at both the '86 and '90 Goodwill Games, and is the only American wrestler to win two gold medals at the Goodwill Games. 
   Smith is currently the head coach at Oklahoma State University, where he led his Cowboys to a second-place finish at the 1997 NCAA Championships and won the national title in 1994. His teams have also won four Big Eight Championships. In addition to his collegiate experience, he has also served as co-coach of the 1997 U.S. Freestyle World Cup team, which he led to the title. 
   As a competitor, Smith won gold medals at the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games at 136.5 pounds (62 kg) and won four World Championship gold medals in 1987 and 1989-91. His six straight international titles are unparalleled in U.S. wrestling history. Smith has won all of the major events in wrestling, including the Olympics, the World Cup, the Goodwill Games and the Pan American Games. 
   The Goodwill Games wrestling team will be selected at the 1998 Freestyle World Team Trials in Waterloo, Iowa, June 12-13. 
   The 1998 Goodwill Games, scheduled for July 19-August 2 in the New York metropolitan area, will showcase approximately 1,500 of the world's best athletes from more than 60 countries competing in 15 sports. The competitors, which include numerous world and Olympic champions, will be vying for $5 million in prize money and world record/performance incentives, the largest purse in multi-sport event history. 
   TBS Superstation, the Games host network, will televise 45 hours of prime-time coverage of the 1998 Goodwill Games. CBS will televise 10 hours of weekend, afternoon coverage. In addition to appearing on TBS and CBS, boxing will be televised on HBO as part of the Boxing After Dark series. The 1998 Games mark the first time a sporting event has appeared on all three levels of television distribution. Turner Sports is the host broadcaster and is coordinating all aspects of the production. Internationally, the syndication rights are being sold by Warner Bros. International Television Distribution, and the Games are expected to be broadcast to more than 130 countries. 
   Past Goodwill Games sites include Moscow, Soviet Union, 1986; Seattle, Washington, 1990 and St. Petersburg, Russia, 1994. 
   The Goodwill Games are hosted through a combined effort between Goodwill Games, Inc., and the participating sports federations, in conjunction with the appropriate state, city, and county governmental agencies. Goodwill Games, Inc., a division of Turner Sports and Time Warner, Inc., is responsible for all aspects of the event.