Former ISU wrestler Varner wins Olympic gold

Iowa States Jake Varner celebrates his victory over Nebraskas Craig Brester in a championship bout in the 197-pound weight class at the NCAA Division I wrestling championships, Saturday, March 21, 2009, in St. Louis. Varner, who was runner up the past two seasons, finally wins a national championship.(AP Photo/Tom Gannam)

Iowa State’s Jake Varner celebrates his victory over Nebraska’s Craig Brester in a championship bout in the 197-pound weight class at the NCAA Division I wrestling championships, Saturday, March 21, 2009, in St. Louis. Varner, who was runner up the past two seasons, finally wins a national championship.(AP Photo/Tom Gannam)

Daily Staff
August 12, 2012

For the sixth time in history, an ISU wrestler has won an Olympic gold medal.

Jake Varner, who won two NCAA titles at 197 pounds in his time at Iowa State, beat Valerii Andriitsev of Ukraine 1-0, 1-0 in the freestyle wrestling 211.5-pound final to join the elite group of former Cyclones in the early morning of Sunday morning (Central time).

Since Varner graduated in 2010, he has trained at State College, Pa., under his former ISU coach and current PSU coach Cael Sanderson, who won gold in the 2004 Olympics. While at Iowa State, Varner was a four-time NCAA finalist and helped the Cyclones to third-place finishes at the NCAA Championships in both 2009 and 2010, as well as a second-place finish in 2007.

Varner joins fellow U.S. wrestler and former Nebraska Cornhusker Jordan Burroughs as a 2012 Olympic gold medalist. It is the first time the United States has won multiple gold medals in freestyle wrestling since 1996. 

Varner now stands beside ISU alumni Glen Brand, Dan Gable, Ben Peterson, Kevin Jackson and Sanderson as the only ISU wrestlers to win Olympic gold.