Barry Alan Davis (born September 17, 1961) is an

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silver medalist, a World bronze and silver medalist, and a Pan American Games gold medalist in

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling ...

. From 1994 until 2018, he served as head wrestling coach at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

Early life

Davis was born in

Bloomfield, Iowa Bloomfield is a city in Davis County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,682 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Davis County. Geography Bloomfield is located in the southeastern part of Iowa, near the Missouri border. Bloomfiel ...

to Elmer and Carol Davis, and grew up in

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...

. He credits the support and work ethic of his parents as contributing to his drive to succeed in athletics. Davis attended

Cedar Rapids Prairie High School Prairie High School is a state school, public high school in the College Community School District in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The school opened in 1956 after the consolidation of multiple schools in the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Area. Prairie High Sc ...

, where he was a three-time state wrestling champion (the second individual from the Cedar Rapids metro area to achieve that distinction), and earned a career prep record of 102-6-1.

College career

At the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

, Davis wrestled on coach Dan Gable's team. During his college career, Davis was a four time NCAA Division I All-American, and a three-time NCAA Division I National Champion . He was named NCAA Outstanding Wrestler in 1985, and was also named the Big Ten Athlete of the Year that same year. Barry Davis' career record at Iowa was 162-9-1. As of 2020, he continues to hold University of Iowa records for season victories (46 in 1982), and career victories (162).

International competition

Davis was champion in freestyle wrestling (125.4 lb) at the

1983 Pan American Games The 1983 Pan American Games were held in Caracas, Venezuela from August 14 to August 29, 1983. The games were the first major international competition to include relatively accurate steroid testing.Taylor, William N., ''Anabolic Steroids and the ...

, and a member of the 1983 U.S. World wrestling team. In 1984, he took a redshirt year from college athletics, to compete on the 1984 U.S. Olympic freestyle wrestling team, winning a silver medal at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

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. Davis competed in the World championships again in 1986 and 1987, earning a bronze medal and a silver, respectively. In 1988 he was once more a member of the U.S. Olympic freestyle wrestling team, but did not earn a medal.

Coaching career

Barry Davis served as graduate assistant coach at the University of Iowa from 1986–1987, and was an assistant coach from 1988–1992. In 1992, he attempted a to make his third

U.S. Olympic team United States of America (USA) has sent athletes to every celebration of the modern era Olympic Games, except for the 1980 Summer Olympics, during which it led a boycott to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. American athletes have w ...

, but did not achieve a place on the team. Davis had been head wrestling coach at the

since 1994. On March 5, 2018, Davis announced that he would resign as head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers at the end of the 2017-18 season. Davis married Nan Doak in 1986. Nan also attended University of Iowa where she was a six-time All-American in

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and cross country prior to becoming a United States national champion in the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

Athletic achievements

* Three time Iowa state high school champion in wrestling * 1982

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I Champion, 118 lb class * Two-time

Division I Champion, 126 lb class (1983, 1985) *

champion, freestyle, 125.4 lb * 1983 Member of U.S. World wrestling team * Four-time NCAA Division I All-American * 1984

silver medalist, 125.5 lb * 1985

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Athlete of the Year * 1985 NCAA Championships Outstanding Wrestler * 1986 World championship bronze medalist, 125.4 lb * 1987 World championship silver medalist, 125.4 lb * 1988 Member of U.S. Olympic freestyle wrestling team

Recognition

* Davis is a member of the National Iowa Varsity Club's Athletic Hall of Fame, inducted in 1998. * In 2007, Davis was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.

Sources

* *

References

External links

*
Barry Davis
at databaseOlympics.com
Nan Doak-Davis and Barry Davis
article from the Des Moines register * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Barry Olympic silver medalists for the United States in wrestling Wrestlers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1988 Summer Olympics American male sport wrestlers Iowa Hawkeyes wrestlers Sportspeople from Cedar Rapids, Iowa 1961 births Living people World Wrestling Championships medalists Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in wrestling Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Wrestlers at the 1983 Pan American Games Big Ten Athlete of the Year winners Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games 20th-century American people