Ed Banach’s name is synonomous with greatness in American wrestling. He is a member of the University of Iowa Athletic Hall of Fame, the Des Moines Register’s Iowa Sports Hall of Fame, and was ranked third among the Cedar Rapids Gazette’s “Top 10 Hawkeye Wrestlers” list.

On his way to these accolades, Banach became a national champion wrestler, coach and Olympic gold Medalist.

Banach’s climb to the top began in Port Jervis, New Jersey. Following a family tragedy, Ed was adopted by Alan and Stephanie Tooley. The young Banach, however, was not alone on his journey.

Ed’s twin brother Lou and elder brother Steve provided some friendly competition as the boys began competing in sports.

“They got us into sports so that we would get out of the house and stop tearing the furniture,” said Banach.

The years went by and the trio of brothers honed their skills. While they competed in everything from track to baseball, the Banach’s discovered their true calling in football and wrestling. With an seemingly limitless amount of strength and intensity, Ed and Lou both became high school state champions in New Jersey, and caught the eye of Dan Gable.

“I wanted to be an Olympic champion and I knew with Gable and the Hawkeye Wrestling Club and the wrestling room I’d have a really shot at making the Olympics,” Banach said, who chose Iowa over Lehigh, Clemson, Wisconsin and Princeton.

Gable had recently taken over the University of Iowa wrestling program in 1976, after a legendary career himself. Considered by many to be the greatest, and most intense, wrestler in U.S. history, Gable instilled his mantra in each of his wrestlers; the Banach’s thrived.

The Hawkeyes had began their streak of nine straight wrestling titles in the spring of 1978. By the spring of 1980, Iowa had collected three consecutive team championships, and Banach had his hands on his first individual gold.

His sophomore season brought more of the same. Banach secured his second national title and was progressing toward his goal of being the first four-time champ. However, in a battle of two future legends, Banach fell to Mark Schultz in the 1982 NCAA Finals.

With his senior year on the horizon, the 190 pound senior took his training to the next level.

“Gable told me I’d need to start working out at 5:30. I thought ‘we work out from 4:00-6:15, Im already practicing at 5:30,’. Dan said ‘that’s not the 5:30 I mean,'” Banach recalled when he asked his coach on how he could improve his talent.

Banach’s tales of training with Gable are epitomized by one workout at the university fieldhouse.

“He was incredible. We worked out in the old Fieldhouse…next to the wrestling room there were mice they used for study at the University Hospital and bags of food that these mice ate. Dan would grab a bag, put it on his shoulders and carry it up the stairs. I’d grab a bag and put it on my shoulders. Drop it off, run back down, and pick another one up.”

“The delivery guy came by and asked where the bags were and Dan told him we were loading them up for him. So we’d grab two and run up, then by the end there were three bags left so I put two bags and he put the third one on the back of my neck and he pushed me up the stairs.”

According to Banach, it was that mental resiliency that Gable trained to perfection.

“He challenged you mentally. He took you to the wall and sometimes you broke and sometimes you didn’t. Mentally you knew you could do it,” Banach said.

His senior year became one of the most legendary in University of Iowa history. In 1983, Banach and Iowa State’s Mike Mann tangled three times prior to the national tournament. Mann had his hand raised during the three regular season bouts. But in the final match of Banach’s college career, he topped his Cyclone nemesis to claim his third national title.

Following his senior season, Banach was awarded the Jesse Owens Big Ten Athlete of the Year Award. His collegiate record ended at 141-9-1 and he holds the Hawkeye record for career pins.

Banach’s eyes were now set on the Olympic games. He had yearned for the gold medal his whole life and now his chance had arrived. He secured a spot on the U.S. national time in September of 1983 and spent the next eight months competing across the globe.

The 1984 Olympics had added meaning for members of the U.S. team. The summer games had not been held on American soil since 1932, with both games taking place in Los Angeles.

Additionally, the Cold War was at its peak, and the Olympics were regularly a battle ground between the Americans and Soviets. In 1980, the United States and 64 other nations boycotted the summer games in Moscow. The Soviet Bloc nations returned the protest by obstaining from competition in 1984.

Banach had competed against the Soviets in prior international competitions. They had been perennial powers in freestyle and greco-roman wrestling, but Banach knew he would have had their number.

In the first three rounds of competition, Banach cruised through his opponents by a combined score of 37-4 beforing picking up a pinfall victory in the fourth round. He would pick up two more wins before reaching the gold medal match.

Akira Ohta was next on the card for Banach. Again the young man who epitomized diligence and dedication pounded his opponent. Banach topped Ohta 16-3 for a technical superiority win to secure his long awaited gold medal.

“He was ferocious, very well conditioned and was just a real good athlete. He was the type of guy that if you were going to beat him you had to put up 13, 14 points, he was just that good…That’s why he didn’t get beat that many times was because very few guys could keep that pace,” said former Iowa State coach Jim Gibbons, whom Banach coached with following his competitive career.

The Americans owned the gold medal spot in freestyle wrestling. Both Banach brothers claimed gold, along with five other competitors. The team placed wrestlers at nine of the 10 weights.

With the exposure from the Olympics, Banach had the opportunity to hob-knob with some of the biggest celebrities and most influential people of the day.

“In the opening ceremonies we were waiting to walk out and Mike Adamle, former Jets and Giants runningback and T.V. analyst from Chicago. He walks up and says ‘hey your Ed and Lou Banach would you do an interview for us?’. We agreed and they were getting set up and a little gymnast comes by. She’s about 4 foot nothing so we put our hands up and make a little chair for her, her head is at about our shoulder and we do the interview then they walk away and Lou asks ‘who was that gymnast?’ I said ‘I don’t know, Mary Lou something,'” Banach said about that gymnast who turned out to be Mary Lou Retton, who claimed five medals at the 1984 Olympics.

The Olympic medal winners toured the country, going everywhere from New York City to Washington, D.C. for parades and celebrations of their accomplishments. Banach and his fellow medalists were personally honored and met president Ronald Reagan.

After his days of global competition, Banach moved on to his next desire: coaching. In 1985 he joined the Iowa State coaching staff. Two years later he helped end a streak he had helped create. Led by Banach and head coach Jim Gibbons, the Cyclones won the 1987 national wrestling title, marking the first time since 1977 that the Iowa Hawkeyes were not champions.

“He had a tremendous work ethic and was very disciplined. He was extremely loyal to our program and he was just a joy to be around,” Gibbons said.

Banach moved on from coaching in 1989 following a series of concussions. Despite his time away from the sport, he has learned lessons about life that move far beyond the mat.

“100 years from now, whats really going to matter? How are you as a man, as a father, as a husband, what did you do for your community to make it a better world? To me those are the more valuable things. Yah I won these gold medals, great, but the things that it taught me in the process is the real gold,” Banach said.