Lindsey Durlacher (September 14, 1974 – June 4, 2011) was an American

Greco-Roman wrestler Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), classic wrestling ( Euro English) or French wrestling (in Russia until 1948) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first mo ...

whose career highlight was a bronze medal at the

2006 FILA Wrestling World Championships The 2006 World Wrestling Championships were held at the Tianhe Gymnasium in Guangzhou, China. The event took place from September 25 to October 1, 2006. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle Men's Greco-Roman Women's fr ...

at 121 pounds. He was among the most accomplished wrestlers in Illinois history.

Early life

Durlacher was Jewish, and was born in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

. He attended Riley Elementary School in

Arlington Heights, Illinois Arlington Heights is a municipality in Cook County with a small portion in Lake County in the U.S. state of Illinois. A suburb of Chicago, it lies about northwest of the city's downtown. Per the 2020 Census, the population was 77,676. Per the ...

, and Cooper Middle School in Buffalo Grove.

Wrestling career

He was a graduate of

Buffalo Grove High School Buffalo Grove High School (BGHS) is a public high school located in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago. It is one of six four-year comprehensive high schools in Township High School District 214, serving portions of the village ...

in Buffalo Grove, IL, going 44–0–1 in his senior year, where he later coached and mentored students. He was a two-time All-American at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

. His career highlight was a bronze medal at the

at 121 pounds. Durlacher was also the 1991 Wisconsin state champion, second in the 1991 Junior Nationals, 1992 Wisconsin high school champion (103 pounds),

1993 Maccabiah Games The 14th Maccabiah Games brought 5,100 athletes to Israel from 48 nations. Jewish athletes from Poland, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia participated for the first time after World War II, after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Athletes from the eight ...

champion, third in the 1994–95 University Nationals, second in the 1996–97 University Nationals, second in the 1997

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 ...

Championships,

1997 Maccabiah Games The 15th Maccabiah Games are remembered for being marred by a Maccabiah bridge collapse, bridge collapse that killed several participants. The Maccabiah had more than 5,000 athletes from 33 countries competing in 36 sports. New sports for the Game ...

champion, 2001 Maccabiah Games champion, second in the 2002 and 2003 U.S. Nationals, silver medalist in the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America. Al ...

, second in the 2004 and 2005 U.S. Nationals,

2005 Maccabiah Games The 17th Maccabiah Games ( he, המכביה ה-17 ישראל תשס"ה), held in Israel, were an incarnation of the 'Jewish Olympics.' They attracted the largest attendance of any Maccabiah Games, including more than 900 representatives from the Un ...

champion, second in the 2007 U.S. Nationals, silver medalist in the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Com ...

, a member of the 2007 American world team champions, second in the 2007 and 2008 U.S. Nationals, and third in the 2009 U.S. Nationals. Durlacher was also assistant coach at the University of Illinois, Northwestern,

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...

, and the

U.S. Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of ...

Death

Durlacher suffered a broken

sternum The sternum or breastbone is a long flat bone located in the central part of the chest. It connects to the ribs via cartilage and forms the front of the rib cage, thus helping to protect the heart, lungs, and major blood vessels from injury. Sh ...

in a

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

accident in February 2011. Durlacher had surgery for the injury in June 2011. He died at the age of 36 in his sleep on June 4, 2011, three days after his surgery, at his home in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Hall of Fame

He is a member of the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association Hall of Fame. In October 2016, Lindsey was inducted into the Greco Roman Wrestling Hall of Fame in a ceremony in Minneapolis, MN.

References

External links