Gable, Daniel M.
Wrestling
b. Oct. 25, 1948, Waterloo, IA
When Gable was named the outstanding wrestler after a 1972 meet in the Soviet Union, the Soviet national coach said, "Before the Olympics, we will find someone who can beat Gable." He was wrong. Despite a painful knee injury, Gable won the gold medal in the lightweight division without giving up a point in his six matches.
A completely dedicated workaholic, Gable trained for seven hours a day every day for three years preparing for the Olympics. During high school and college, he was undefeated until 1970, when he lost in the finals of the NCAA 142-pound championship. In high school, he won all 64 of his matches, and he won 118 of 119 collegiate matches.
Wrestling for Iowa State, he was the NCAA champion at 130 pounds in 1968 and 137 pounds in 1969. Gable was AAU featherweight champion in 1969 and lightweight champion in 1970. He won the world and Pan-American 149.5-pound championships in 1971.
Gable competed infrequently after the Olympics and retired in 1973. He attempted a comeback in 1975 but was forced into retirement again by a pinched nerve.
In 1977, Gable became the wrestling coach at the University of Iowa. In 21 years, his teams compiled a 355-21-5 record and won 15 NCAA championships, including nine in a row from 1978 through 1986.
Gable produced 78 individual champions and 152 All-Americans. Four of his wrestlers won Olympic gold medals. He also coached the U. S. Olympic wrestling team in 1980, 1984, and 1990.
He retired from coaching after the 1997 season to have hip replacement surgery. Since then, he has served as the assistant to the university's director of athletics in charge of performance enhancement and has worked in broadcasting. Gable has also written books, directed instructional videos, and worked as a motivational speaker.