The Marine | Greg Gibson | HIGHLIGHT
Before he became a three-style world medalist, Greg Gibson was a two-sport threat out of Redding, California — a starting linebacker good enough for a Seattle Seahawks tryout and a wrestler good enough to take Oregon to its first-ever Pac-8 team title. He chose the mat. In 1978 he traded pro football for the United States Marine Corps, and what followed is a career no American wrestler has matched.
**Amateur & Collegiate**
– Graduated Shasta High School, Redding, CA (1972)
– Two-sport star at the University of Oregon — football and wrestling
– Two-time NCAA All-American (heavyweight runner-up as a junior and again as a senior)
– Helped lead Oregon to its first-ever Pac-8 Conference team wrestling championship (1975)
– Pac-8 Wrestler of the Year (1976)
**International & Military Wrestling**
– Joined the United States Marine Corps (1978), wrestling out of Quantico for the All-Marine team
– 1977 USA Wrestling National Freestyle Heavyweight Champion
– 1980 Greco-Roman World Cup Gold Medalist
– World Championships (1981–1983): two silver medals and one bronze in freestyle wrestling
– 1982 Sambo World Cup Gold Medalist — becoming the first wrestler to medal in all three international styles
– 1983 Pan-American Games freestyle gold medalist
– 1983 World Military Wrestling Championship (France): Freestyle and Greco-Roman Champion
– 1984 Summer Olympics: Silver medalist, Greco-Roman heavyweight
– 22-time Armed Forces Wrestling Champion (freestyle and Greco-Roman combined)
– Only American wrestler to win World medals in three international styles — Greco-Roman, freestyle, and sambo
**Service & Legacy**
– Deployed during Operation Desert Storm (Gulf War) as a corrections specialist
– Coached the Marine Corps Wrestling Team while continuing to compete
– 2001: silver medalist in his final career match, helping the Marines claim their first-ever team championship
– Retired from the USMC in 2003 as a Master Sergeant
– Distinguished Member, National Wrestling Hall of Fame
This is the story of a wrestler who never stopped being a Marine, and a Marine who never stopped being a champion.
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