Randall Scott Lewis (born June 7, 1959, in

Rapid City, South Dakota Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...

) 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 sport ...

and Olympic champion. He competed at the 1984 Olympic Games in

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' ...

, where he won the gold medal 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 ...

in the featherweight class. Lewis won three high school state wrestling titles in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

. At one point in his high school career, Lewis held the national consecutive pin record at 45. He later won the Junior World (20 years old and younger) Freestyle Championship. In

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

, Lewis became a four-time All-American and two-time NCAA champion 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 ...

. He was a two-time Olympian, in both 1980 and 1984. President Jimmy Carter's boycott prevented the U.S. team from traveling to the 1980 Olympic Games held in Moscow, Russia. At the 1984 Olympic Games, Lewis won the gold medal at the 62 kg weight division in

, outscoring his first four opponents 52-4 to advance to the final, where he defeated Japan's Kosei Akaishi 24-11 in 4:52. He was second in the 1988 U.S. Olympic trials to John Smith, losing out in a best of three series. Smith went on to capture Olympic gold in both the 1988 and 1992 Games. In 1998, Lewis 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 ...

as a Distinguished Member.Randy Lewis
''National Wrestling Hall of Fame''. Retrieved September 18, 2022.

References

External links

* 1959 births Living people Sportspeople from Rapid City, South Dakota Iowa Hawkeyes wrestlers Wrestlers at the 1984 Summer Olympics American male sport wrestlers Olympic gold medalists for the United States in wrestling 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 Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games 20th-century American people 21st-century American people {{US-Olympic-medalist-stub