Shelby Autrie Wilson (born July 14, 1937) is an American wrestler and Olympic champion.[1]

Shelby Wilson
Personal information
Full nameShelby Autrie Wilson
BornJuly 14, 1937 (1937-07-14) (age 86)
Ponca City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome 67 kg
Collegiate Wrestling
Representing the Oklahoma State Cowboys
NCAA Wrestling Championships
Silver medal – second place 1958 Laramie 137 lb
Silver medal – second place 1959 Iowa City 137 lb

Career edit

A native of Ponca City, Oklahoma,[2] Wilson was a two-time Oklahoma state tournament runner-up while in high school, and was a two-time NCAA runner-up in college at Oklahoma State. At the 1960 U.S. Olympic Trials, he finished in third place. During the Olympic Training Camp he successfully challenged the trials' second and first-place finishers to gain the starting position. He won Olympic Gold in Rome, in the freestyle lightweight (67 kg) division. His Olympic gold medal was the first major tournament that Wilson had won. He later became a high school wrestling coach at Owen Valley Community High School.[3]

In 1982, Wilson was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Shelby Wilson". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  2. ^ "Beyond the Scoreboard", The Herald-Times, 2010-03-21. Accessed 2011-04-22.
  3. ^ "1960 Summer Olympics – Rome, Italy – Wrestling"databaseOlympics.com (Retrieved on April 29, 2008)
  4. ^ Shelby Wilson. National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 18, 2022.