He asks the secretary, "You need me?". She has been married to Dan Gabel since May 18, 1974. Later that night, some friends sit around the hotel bar, just as baffled as Mackie. A Des Moines newspaper reporter once wore an Iowa hat to a Russian village during the Cold War, in the mountains near the Siberian border, where an American had never been. Gable doesn't say anything. Gable has used his fame to bring awareness, and to lobby behind the scenes, constantly working the phones or getting on planes. He had condominiums in Florida, and he flew us there. Some people get strong with fancy machines. Gable thinks this is hilarious. The wrestling rooms of his life come back to him, bunkers, dark and hot, without windows or natural light, a lot like a poet's vision of hell. It was tough the kid went through hell the first year. At night, Dan heard the fights, the words burrowing into his memory, where they'd remain forever. In fact, Dans success is pointing up the state of Iowa in wrestling, and thats good for all of us., From the archives: Chris Taylor, Iowa State's larger-than-life wrestling star. Dan Gable Quotes. . 1 Iowa State, 22-15. You never know what will make a difference to a kid in trouble or to a guy who thinks hes dying. He didn't know. Half an hour later, his parents opened the door, humbled by the courage of their son. We recommend . GET OUT OF THERE! Diane Gable, Dan's older sister. Lately he's been taking the time to understand new things, like the straps and buckles on his grandkids' car seats. He's focused on overturning the IOC decision. Theres not much bad I can say about Dan except that hes a workaholic. by Wright Thompson, Can a fly rod really hold the secret of life? Both talk as if they'd like more children. The entire Dan Gable family poses for a photo in their suite at the 2019 NCAA Division Wrestling championships at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa. Gable and his wife, Kathy are third from the . Gable resides in Iowa City with his wife Kathy and has four daughters, Jenni Mitchell, Annie Gavin, Molly Olszta and Mackenzie McCord. His friends look at the floor in silence. He flashed the smile that soon will appear on thousands of bubble gum cards and said: I cant let up we have the Russians to beat!, From the archives: Dan Gable won the first of his 2 NCAA titles 50 years ago. This is the Gable family's favorite part, because it echoes their own lives: a general and his troops, happy to be finished with the battle but missing the fight. My sisters death affected my whole life. And, yes, he once did send some Hawkeye T-shirts to a blind man in St. Albin who is an avid wrestling fan. When the news broke, Gable invited a reporter to his home outside Iowa City and to the NCAA wrestling tournament, which remains a holy week in his family. Above the fireplace is Dan's medal. University of Minnesota wrestling star Gable Steveson won the Olympic men's freestyle 125kg gold medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games in the most dramatic fashion. Considered to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, Gable is a two-time NCAA Division I national champion, a world gold medalist, and an Olympic gold medalist.Gable was only the third wrestler to have ever been inducted into the United World Wrestling's Hall of Fame in the Legend . Gable, who lost only one match in his entire college career his record was 181 and 1 admits he has an obsession with fitness. Pain is nothing compared to what it feels like to quit. Leaning over, with his head down, the tears come. They've rented a place. 1 thing I give them.. Some part of Gable never stopped blaming himself for her death. In Des Moines, as the tournament gets under way, he starts making noises that sound like an animal's death rattle, a moan that starts somewhere very deep inside. Nobody touched Diane's room. He brings it up on his own, and the story trickles out. A young man stepped out of the crowd, pointed toward the hat and said one of the few English words he knew: "Gable.". Tragedy struck again three years ago when doctors discovered Dans mother had cancer. The Gables invested so much in their only remaining child that everything touched by Dan took on a talismanic meaning. Then I met Dan at the 2012 Olympic Trials and pitch the idea to do a magazine article about his sister's murder. In five years, he'll have been retired for as long as he was a head coach. After the IOC decision -- its ruling can be cemented or reversed in a September meeting, during which wrestling, squash or baseball and softball will be chosen -- the president of FILA, the international wrestling body, was pushed out by his own board. It's hard to explain, this dichotomy, but when he gave up that job, they all lost something. "Four three two one," a friend counts down, and the horn sounds. Kathy Gable comforts Dan, talking softly to him, and soon he returns, drying his eyes, trying to explain something he doesn't understand. The international wrestling governing body's leader and lieutenants weren't respected in the Olympic community and were told repeatedly to make changes to the sport, to fix many of the confusing rules that had been added over the years. Everything is still. He is best known for his tenure as head coach at the University of Iowa where he won 15 NCAA team titles between 1976 and 1997. A family was his reward. My ear fills with liquid and has to be drained with a needle. In the morning, he moved his things into Diane's room. "I've had some unbelievable conversations with Kathy Gable that Dan Gable doesn't know about in that f---ing closet right there," says current Iowa coach Tom Brands, sitting in the Iowa wrestling room. This story appears in ESPN The Magazine's Sept. 2 NFL Preview issue. Few athletes have ever been as dominant as the legendary Dan Gable. Gable leaps from the hot tub and dives into the drift of snow. C du Kathy Uyn v ch r gy st bi nhng hnh ng tnh t, ngt ngo dnh cho nhau. Kathy Gable provided a sense of common everyday life for her family while her husband produced uncommon results. Dan takes a step back, then rushes toward the door. That surprised him. Competing for Iowa State University, he posted a near-perfect record. "It was simple: I wanted to beat the guy who beat me," says Owings. "Maybe it's time to turn my locker in," he says. She wanted to wrestle in junior high school, but her mom wouldn't let her join the boys team. They felt this young punk Olympic champ wasnt going to come in and tell them what to do. He got out of his bed, crossed the hall and climbed into Diane's bed, turning to face the wall. The best result we found for your search is Kathy J Gable age 60s in Peru, IN. KATHLEEN GABLE OBITUARY. Married a decade ago, Kathy and Dan Gable have three daughters, Jennifer, 6; Annie, 4; and Molly, 8 months. 1 of 1. His mother made the books, collecting mementos from his journey, starting with local papers, rising up to Sports Illustrated profiles. In 1974, Dan Gable married Kathy Carpenter and the couple has four daughters: Jenni, Annie, Molly and Mackenzie. I never took him up on it, Gable said. Dan's obsession became theirs. ESPN The Magazine This story appears in ESPN The Magazine . He lost his relevance. Along the way, he had four daughters with his wife, Kathy. He was undefeated in 64 prep matches, and was 117-1 at Iowa State University. No, he ain't. There's a long pause as he thinks. An unspoken dream seemed to die in his eyes. He is going to win the national championship. "I'm coming here with one thing in mind," Dan says after checking into his suite on the 10th floor of the Savery Hotel, reaching into the closet and thumbing past two Iowa jackets before pulling out one that says USA. It's a Sunday afternoon, and he heads down to the basement, which is covered with trinkets from his travels. He became one of the few dominant athletes in a sport who . Only my family comes before it, said the man who commonly is called the greatest wrestler in U.S. history.. Dan sees the phone again. Andrew Cutraro, "I don't know where I'm at when it comes to this Olympic wrestling," he says. University of Iowa wrestling legend and Waterloo native Dan Gable knows. Dan Gable on working with The Smithsonian Institute, an Iowa team poster tour from his basement, Going for X (10) in a row, on coach's row, on peaking athletes, on accountability, and Saving . 4 Iowa beat No. His only defeat came in the NCAA finals his senior year. President Donald Trump awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor, to Olympic gold medalist and former University of Iowa wrestling coach Dan Gable in the Oval Office of . It was taken Jan. 16, 1988, when No. U.S. President Donald Trump awarded Gable with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on December 8, 2020. . Dan would go on to a 7-year winning streak that included 181 wins, zero losses, three high school state championships and three NCAA titles, wrestling for Iowa State. One day, as he walks from the hotel to the arena, he tries to explain why. Today, Gable still resides in the Hawkeye State with his wife, Kathy. Dan Gable (Daniel Mack Gable) was born on 25 October, 1948 in Waterloo, IA, is an American wrestler. Dan Gable is a former Olympic wrestler and head coach who is considered to be one of the greatest amateur wrestlers in American history Dan Gable @Coaches, Timeline and Childhood . Dan Gable's home on a large wooded lot in Iowa City is filled with trophies and posters, with his Olympic gold medal a centerpiece. Gable was a three-time all-American and three-time Big Eight champion. In the days ahead, he'll talk to the Iowa state legislature, to groups of fans, to dozens of reporters, using his fame and influence to protect Olympic wrestling. His fighting days are nearly finished. The wrestlers stop in the middle of practice and have Gatorade parties. A guard checks his ticket and waves him into the suite level. She lived in Waterloo then, in high school, and Dan, at Iowa State, sometimes trained in his hometown. It's just him and Kathy now. Next year, for the first time in their lives, Dan and Kathy are spending January and March in Florida, returning to Iowa in February for wrestling events. Hes never been on an ego trip. Dan Gable's Home Gym. I said to myself, She cant be here with me, but she can look down on me and be proud. I tried to accomplish much more for her, Gable recalled. "I'd like a little more ability to have my fingers on it.". He never lost, and his parents never missed a match. Andrew Cutraro, GABLE SPENDS HIS days trying to be useful. Gable is on the newly formed Committee for the Preservation of Olympic Wrestling. I cant see myself coaching after that. Danny Mack Gable (born October 25, 1948) is an American former folkstyle and freestyle wrestler and coach. My dedication to Diane kept me straighter she was a motivating force. In addition, from 1976 to 1997, he was the head wrestling coach at the University of Iowa. The scars on his damaged knees turned bright red and glistened in the blazing sun. It sounds like coachspeak and only makes sense once you've watched Gable watch wrestling. He hesitates, considering how much to reveal. He's been doing a lot of that lately, out here by himself, looking back at a life of competition and pain. "I'm gonna step outside.". "Before my sister died," he says, and he changes the subject. It's late afternoon at the compound, near sunset. To his nine grandchildren, he is a jungle gym. He resides in Iowa City, Iowa, with his wife Kathy. My goal is hers.. When the machine had asked his age, Gable, who is 64, typed in 29, as always, and began attacking the pedals, grinding out frustrations about the IOC and the collapsing Hawkeyes. "It burns," he says, gritting his teeth, and he sounds supremely happy. Kyle's death brought back the sorrow and grief, the anger and guilt, and Gable walked around his 45 acres when he got home, yelling and screaming at the tall pines. He's seen it hundreds of times, sometimes alone, sometimes with his kids piled around. I dedicated my career and all my accomplishments to her. It doesnt take much prodding to get Gable to admit that hes one hell of a coach. Danny Mack "Dan" Gable (born October 25, 1948) is a retired American Olympic wrestler and head coach. When he got home, he avoided his parents. He can rattle off the wrestlers who suffered with him but never got the brief redemption of a championship. He's got to be careful. He needs something to do. After the second, he got another tattoo, over his heart: an angry golden hawk, wings out, talons sharp and ready. President Donald Trump to award Dan Gable the Presidential Medal of Freedom, wrestling icon tells Register, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. His hands twitch. St. John is tied with 48 seconds left. Mention her sons career, and she smiles and says, He was ornery when he was a little kid, but I didnt let him get away with anything.. former university of iowa wrestling coach dan gable will be awarded the . He needs to be relevant. Some essential part of Gable is gone forever. This land is a lot of work, and he's getting older. But Gables father, Mack, talks of the rough times his son had when he joined the University of Iowa coaching staff as an assistant in 1973, just a year after the Olympic victory. All ended up with former athletes, and only Molly lives outside the state of Iowa. His struggle is never clearer than when he stops by the Iowa wrestling office, to pick up mail that still arrives there addressed to him, or to sign autographs. At age four, Gable became active in the Waterloo Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) and participated . Gable led the University of Iowa to 15 NCAA Championships and 21 consecutive Big 10 Championships during his 21 seasons as head coach (1977-97). He sticks out his tongue. Courtesy IU Athletics. He has these things locked in trapdoors and eeeek " -- he makes the creaking sound of an old hinge opening -- " they start coming out. Some of those kids had been wrestling at Iowa three and four years. Until high school, or maybe even college, Mackie thought the John Lennon song "Imagine" was written especially for a 1992 wrestling highlight video. To be honest, Carver talked money to me at first. His only defeat came in the NCAA finals his senior year. The glory always meant more to me if I knew my parents and my sister would see it., He recalled pacing nervously in the dressing room before his Olympic matches and thinking, Diane is with me, too. He swings open the door and steps back inside. Dan Gable is an American former wrestler and coach. Just the other morning, a former Iowa wrestler saw Gable punishing an unsuspecting elliptical machine in the hotel gym. "Starting a chain saw," he says. It's almost like something we've looked up to.". Gable breathes and bleeds the sport, and faithfully applies lessons learned from both on and off the mat. One evening, his mother screamed, "I wish I'd raised her a whore!" Danny Mack "Dan" Gable was born on October 25, 1948, in Waterloo, Iowa, to Mack Gable, a real-estate salesman, and his wife, Katie Gable, a homemaker. They're all here." Making the turn down the hall to join his family, he thinks about his useless gear gathering dust in the Iowa wrestling room. He has had to slow down because his knees . I make friends, but I never get too close. WATERLOO Good things can come out of deep personal tragedy. Gable talks of getting out of coaching by 1988. Both talk as if theyd like more children. She gives directions, telling him to just sign his name, or to add a personal note to a specific fan. During a weekend on the Mississippi, Katie Gable talked of how she once played nursemaid not only to Dan, but to John and Ben Peterson, two wrestlers who gained Olympic berths with Gable in 1972. And he never stays bitter at anybody no matter what they say about him, he said. The pain about his sister is combining with all the other pain he's felt in his life, with Larry Owings, with the Olympics, even with McDonough. Married a decade ago, Kathy and Dan Gable have three daughters, Jennifer, 6; Annie, 4; and Molly, 8 months. "Saving the sport" became his mantra. Yet, for all the public exposure, including television and magazine endorsements for vitamins, weight-lifting equipment and running shoes, Gable remains a very private man. "A lot of pain. ", "I feel bad for my dad," Mackie says. It is four p.m. Dan Gable is starting a 2-hour workout in the 95 heat of the wrestling room. Dan Gable's career accomplishments are etched in wrestling lore, from his 1972 unscored-on Olympic gold-medal performance on the mat to his record-setting 15 NCAA titles as wrestling coach (a mark unequaled in wrestling history). Part of his role with CPOW is helping redesign the rules, an important request from the IOC. He graduated from high school 64-0, a three-time state champion. View the profiles of professionals named "Kathy Gable" on LinkedIn. The Network is a community of wrestlers who help each other in business and in life while supporting the sport that has played such an important role in every member's life. Taking on other people's pain is why he left the sport. The Iowa wrestling room was perfect, carefully constructed over decades as a confessional, a place where pain could be traded for absolution. It was dark outside. He welcomed the hurt. BOONE, Iowa Twelve of the top high school male and female wrestlers from the 2022-23 season were honored Wednesday at the 13th annual Dan Gable Ms. & Mr. Wrestler Awards banquet. Its the only time he really gets away its a place he goes to escape, said Kathy Gable, Dans wife. I never write sympathetic notes. Not even he really knows what's happening to him. Doctors told him not to wrestle with the Takedown Machine. Dan Gable with a reward for all his work and pain: a 1972 Olympic gold medal. They're thinking about downsizing. When she finished reading, she hurried to the bedroom. He is an author, motivational speaker, father, and grandfather. Even though he chose this life and they did not, that distinction became smaller and smaller until it ceased to matter at all. He lost his final college match in 1970, however two years later he won the gold medal in his weight class at the Munich . Now, in the last hour of the tournament, a scowl anchors his face. He'd lost his sister, and now his deepest fear was coming true. They first met at a party. During his prep and college Wrestling careers, Dan Gable compiled an unbelievable record of 181-1. "I don't even know how to explain it. During a speech not long ago, Gable laughed about the rolling circus that travels with him. As Iowa's all-time winningest coach, Gable compiled a career record of 355-21-2, all at Iowa. Kathy Gable comforts Dan, talking softly to him, and soon he returns, drying his eyes, trying to explain something he doesn't understand. Just as quickly he jumps back into the hot water, his body temperature skyrocketing, the snow melting off. Wright Thompson is a senior writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. Follow him on Twitter at @wrightthompson. Dan is screaming now too, spittle flying out of his mouth.