It's the stuff two legends are made of

By JOHN ROMANO

© St. Petersburg Times, published September 28, 2000

SYDNEY, Australia -- It was the heart of the night when the news broke in America on KRSV-AM in Afton, Wyo. An excited voice reported that halfway around the world, a legend had fallen. And another was beginning to rise.

Alexander Karelin has been described in many ways. A patron of poetry and art. A devoted servant in the Russian parliament. For a time, they called him "The Experiment," a none-too-subtle nod to his freakish size and strength. Usually he is introduced simply as history's greatest wrestler.

Never before Wednesday had anyone called him a beaten man.

Rulon Gardner has been described in many ways. A gentle, quiet soul. The farm boy-turned-wrestler. For many years back in school, the crueler children called him "Fatso." Usually back in Afton, they refer to him just as the baby among Reed and Virginia's nine children.

Now, beginning Wednesday, he will be known as the man who beat a legend.

Gardner, 29, is responsible for the greatest upset of the 2000 Olympics. He beat Karelin 1-0 in overtime to earn the gold medal in the 286-pound weight class in Greco-Roman wrestling.

Karelin, 33, is not just an athlete. He is the image of athletic excellence. Between the Olympics and the world championships, he has ruled wrestling for 12 years. He had not lost a match since 1987 and, remarkably, had not even given up a point to an opponent since 1993.

This was to be his unprecedented fourth consecutive Olympic gold. The match that would send him into history as a mythical beast who caused shivers in the biggest and strongest of the world's men. Instead, the Siberian Bear quit.

With four seconds remaining and the men facing each other on their feet, Karelin stood up straight and walked away from his legacy.

"I didn't know what he was doing, but I was going to be ready for one last explosion," Gardner said. "I not only had to beat Karelin, I had to beat the referee and the officials at the table. You don't understand how many people wanted to see him win this medal.

"Personally, I did, too. I mean, he's a legend. He's the very best."

Sometime after 4 a.m. Mountain time, KRSV had Gardner's brother Rollin on the air from Australia to talk about the chubby little kid who used to collect Boy Scout merit badges and work chores on the family farm.

Rulon admits life was not always easy growing up around the Star Valley, about 70 miles from the Jackson Hole ski resort in Wyoming. Running a dairy farm is hard work, and money sometimes grew tight in their close-knit, Mormon family. It did not help that Rulon was overweight and shy.

"He was a stocky boy, and he was very easygoing, so I guess that made him a target for other kids," his father, Reed, said. "He was teased by some of them. They used to call him fat. I don't think they would do that anymore."

If Karelin is the vanguard of Russian culture, Gardner is the pride of Lincoln County. When the community learned the family was having trouble funding its trip to Australia, fundraisers popped up around the county.

The Gardners themselves raised money at the county fair by selling milk can dinners -- a sausage, ham and corn concoction cooked in 10-gallon metal milk cans that were once a staple on dairy farms.

"People around here have seen Rulon going since before he was in high school, and it's a tremendous thrill for them to watch him now," KRSV station manager Jerry Hansen said. "He didn't just send shock waves through the wrestling world, he's sent them through our whole area. We're getting bombarded with people calling in about Rulon."

This may be the cruelest knowledge of all for Karelin. It was not like he was beaten by Matt Ghaffari, an accomplished American wrestler who had turned his pursuit of Karelin into his life's obsession. Twenty-three times he wrestled Karelin, and 23 times he lost.

Ghaffari mortgaged his home in suburban Cleveland to fund his quest for a final shot at Karelin in 2000, but he was beaten by Gardner at the trials.

Gardner, meanwhile, never had won a medal at an international meet and was given little chance against Karelin. An early news release written on the letterhead of the Sydney organizing committee said Gardner likely would be "totally outclassed against Karelin" who "looks assured of winning."

"Rulon had to wrestle the perfect match, and that is exactly what he did," U.S. coach Dan Chandler said. "That's how you beat the greatest wrestler in the world."

When the deed was done, Karelin's oft-bemused expression turned to disgust. An articulate man who in the past has delighted in tweaking the pride of vanquished opponents, Karelin said nothing throughout post-bout ceremonies and declined to talk to the media.

Once medals have been awarded, the three recipients traditionally stand arm in arm on the gold platform for photographers. Karelin, instead, remained on the silver stand. He walked briskly around the arena in what is supposed to be a final salute to the crowd and then removed the silver medal from around his neck before stepping out of sight.

If Gardner noticed these slights, he did not appear bothered. Instead, he continued to praise Karelin. He talked about his only previous appearance against the Russian -- which he lost 5-0 in 1998 -- and the impression Karelin left on him after that match.

"It frightened me to feel the strength he has," Gardner said. "Go up next to a cow and try to push it. I've done it on a farm all my life, and I know what it feels like. That's how it feels when you try to push Karelin. Except he's a little quicker than a cow and can come around and catch you."

It was around 7 a.m. in Wyoming when KSRV tracked down Rulon at a Planet Hollywood in Sydney where he was celebrating with his parents, brothers, sisters and in-laws -- a Gardner party of 16. He did a short telephone interview and then got back to the celebration at hand.

By then, the news was spreading around the world. Even the most casual of fans would question how a 12-year winning streak could end against a largely anonymous wrestler. They were not the only ones. After stepping down from the medal stand and draping an American flag around his father's shoulders, Gardner explained his slow process of realization.

"When did I actually think I could beat him?" Gardner said without cracking a smile. "About 10 minutes ago."

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