Ludwig David "Lou" Banach (born February 6, 1960) is an American athlete who won a gold medal in wrestling in the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

in Los Angeles. He was noted with his fraternal twin brother

Ed Banach Edward Joseph "Ed" Banach (born February 6, 1960) is an athlete who won a gold medal in wrestling in the 1984 Summer Olympics. He wrestled for the University of Iowa under coach Dan Gable from 1980 to 1983, where he was a four-time NCAA All-A ...

for both winning gold medals in freestyle wrestling at the same Olympics. After earning a master's in business degree at

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

in 1988, Banach has had a career as a banker based in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

. Since 2010 he has been a segment leader for Associated Bank of Green Bay.

Early life and education

Lou and Ed Banach are

fraternal twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...

brothers born in

Sussex County, New Jersey Sussex County is the northernmost county in the State of New Jersey. Its county seat is Newton. ...

, sons of Warclaw and Genevieve Banach, immigrants from Poland and Germany, respectively."Banach twins grapple with their problems"
''New York Times'', June 22, 1984 They have an older brother Steve, born in 1959. Their biological family of 16 was separated when they were young, after their house was destroyed in a fire. Their mother suffered a nervous breakdown, and the children had to be put in foster care. The twins and their brother Steve were all adopted in the early 1970s by Alan and Stephanie Tooley of

Montague, New Jersey Montague Township is a township in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States, in the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 3,847, reflecting an increase of 435 (+12.7%) from the 3,4 ...

. The family moved to

Port Jervis, New York Port Jervis is a city located at the confluence of the Neversink and Delaware rivers in western Orange County, New York, United States, north of the Delaware Water Gap. Its population was 8,775 at the 2020 census. The communities of Deerpark, ...

, where the three boys all became involved in football and wrestling in high school. The twins were established as the best wrestlers in Port Jervis history by the time they graduated in 1978. The twins both were recruited by

Dan Gable Danny Mack Gable (born October 25, 1948) is an American former folkstyle and freestyle wrestler and coach. 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 went to 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 ...

on wrestling scholarships the fall of 1978. Lou Banach won NCAA championships in 1981 and 1983. His overall collegiate record was 92-14-3. He was enrolled in

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

during college. Lou Banach holds a bachelor's degree in Management and Communications from the University of Iowa and earned his MBA in Finance/Accounting with honors from Penn State University.

Olympic gold

In 1984, Lou won a gold medal in Freestyle Wrestling in the 220-pound-weight (light heavyweight) class at the

1984 Summer Olympic Games The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California. His brother

won a gold medal in the 198-pound-class. In that same Olympiad, American brothers

Dave Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

and Mark Schultz also both won gold medals in wrestling events. Wrestling at lower weight classes than the Banachs, the Schultzes became the first American brothers to win gold medals in the same Olympics in wrestling. However, the Banach brothers have the distinction of being the first American TWIN brothers to win the gold medal in the same Olympics in wrestling.

Career

After his wrestling career, Banach entered active duty in the army as a second lieutenant. Following his management role during the day, he helped coach at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

. He went on to professional studies, earning a master's degree in business administration at

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

. In 1988, he started his banking career at National City Bank (now PNC) in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. He and his wife decided they wanted to live in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, where Banach was hired at Norwest (Wells Fargo) Bank. His early banking experiences included asset based and cash-flow lending. Before his current role at Associated Bank, he served for seven years as senior vice president and deputy regional manager for a super regional bank's Milwaukee office. He worked with business customers to finance mergers and acquisitions. In 2010 he joined Associated Bank (based in Green Bay) as group senior vice president of commercial banking for southeast Wisconsin, dealing with businesses in the $10 million to $100 million annual sales range. Today, he manages two specialized banking teams across numerous Midwest states."Banach trying to wrestle in customers for Associated"
''

Milwaukee Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor News ...

'', September 26, 2010, accessed November 15, 2014

Marriage and family

Banach, his wife Kim and their three children reside in the Milwaukee area.

Honors

* In 1994 Banach was inducted into the

National Wrestling Hall of Fame 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 ...

."Lou Banach, inducted 2002"
National Wrestling Hall of Fame, accessed November 15, 2014 * In 2002 Banach was inducted into the University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame. * In 2010 Banach was inducted into the Port Jervis, NY High school Hall of Fame. * Port Jervis, New York installed a blue-and-gold sign in town honoring Ed and Lou Banach as Olympic champions.Sal Interdonato, "Banach's Olympic gold came with a heavy price"
''Times Herald Record'' (recordonline.com, Middletown, NY), August 13, 2006, accessed November 15, 2014 * Banach is the author of two books: The New Breed:Living Iowa Wrestling an
Uncommon Bonds: A Journey in Optimism

References