Donald Ray "Don" Behm (born February 13, 1945 in

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...

) is an American

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spor ...

and coach. He was Olympic silver 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 wrestli ...

in 1968.

Career

Behm's high school career, in which he was a two time, undefeated state champion, granted him the opportunity to wrestle for Michigan State University. During his collegiate career, Behm became a two-time All-American, a two-time Big Ten champion and three-time Midlands champion. In his post collegiate freestyle career, Behm's success continued both nationally and internationally. In AAU and USWF tournaments between 1969 and 1973, he won five national championships, received All-American honors 11 times, and was twice named Outstanding Wrestler. Representing the United States in the 1968 Olympic games, Behm earned an impressive silver medal in the first and only "no match final" in the history of the sport. In 1970, he was the first American to capture a gold medal at the grueling Tbilisi tournament, wrestling seven nine-minute matches in one day. * 1968 Silver Medal

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

* 1969 Silver Medal World Championships 57 kg * 1969 Gold Medal Pan American * 1970 Gold Medal Tbilisi Tournament 57 kg * 1971 Silver Medal World Championships 57 kg * 1971 Gold Medal Pan-American Games 57 kg * 1993 Gold Medal Veterans World Championships Don Behm is a member the Illinois Athletic Hall of Fame, a charter member of the Midlands Hall of Fame. In 2004 he was inducted as a distinguished member into the

National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame for amateur wrestling, headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2010, it began operating the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. History The museum was awarded to Stillw ...

in Stillwater, OK. In 2007 he was inducted into the Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame. In 2016 he was inducted into the Michigan State University Athletics Hall of Fame. He is only the second wrestler at MSU to be included in the Athletics Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Behm, Donald 1945 births Living people Wrestlers at the 1968 Summer Olympics American male sport wrestlers Olympic silver medalists for the United States in wrestling Sportspeople from Vancouver, Washington Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in wrestling Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Wrestlers at the 1971 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1971 Pan American Games American wrestling coaches