Wrestling icons Gable and Robles named to National Fitness Foundation Honorary Board
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by National Fitness Foundation and other sources
Dan Gable photo from DanGable.com and Anthony Robles photo from AnthonyRobles.com
Fitness Leaders Join Foundation to Champion a More Active Future
Washington, DC (February 28, 2018) – Today the National Fitness Foundation is proud to announce the establishment of its Honorary Board. As the official charity of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition, the inaugural Honorary Board consists of 27 former members of the Council spanning across eight Presidential Administrations.
Two of those selected for this Honorary Board are from the wrestling community, Olympic champion and legendary coach Dan Gable and NCAA champion and inspiring athlete Anthony Robles.
Gable was a 1972 Olympic champion and 1971 World champion athlete, who won two NCAA titles for Iowa State. Coach for the University of Iowa, he led the Hawekeyes to 15 NCAA titles in 21 years. He has also coached numerous U.S. Olympic, World and World Cup teams.
Robles was an NCAA Div. I champion for Arizona State and a three-time All-American, in spite of being born without a right leg. His personal story has inspired people worldwide, and Robles is a television announcer and public speaker who continues to impact many lives.
The Foundation was congressionally chartered in 2010 as a non-partisan nonprofit to support the mission of the Council. The new Honorary Board is designed to commemorate the dedicated service of proven health & fitness leaders and provide them with the opportunity to engage in their work leading programs and driving innovations that prepare children for a lifetime of health & fitness.
“As a former Co-Chair of the President’s Council and Board Member of the National Fitness Foundation, I am honored to welcome these extraordinary leaders to our Honorary Board,” said Tom McMillen, CEO of the LEAD1 Association. “We applaud their commitment to our mission and I look forward to building on their legacy to accelerate solutions that empower kids to lead active, healthy lives.”
Honorary Board Member/Presidential Administration
* Judi Ford Nash, Richard M. Nixon & Gerald R. Ford
* C. Thomas McMillen, Richard M. Nixon & William J. Clinton
* Claude Terry, James E. Carter
* Jere W. Thompson, Ronald W. Reagan
* Jackie Joyner-Kersee, George H. W. Bush
* Myrna Partrich, George H. W. Bush
* Gary Visconti, George H. W. Bush
* Don Casey, William J. Clinton
* Veronica Goldberg, William J. Clinton
* Deborah Slaner Larkin, William J. Clinton
* Catherine Baase, George W. Bush
* J. Nick Baird, George W. Bush
* Paul Carrozza, George W. Bush
* Katherine Cosgrove Van Horn, George W. Bush
* Amanda Cromwell, George W. Bush
* Pamela Danberg, George W. Bush
* Jaime Davidson, George W. Bush
* Dan Gable, George W. Bush
* Lillian Greene-Chamberlain, George W. Bush
* Edward Laskowski, George W. Bush
* Jerry Noyce, George W. Bush
* Caitlin Cahow, Barack H. Obama
* Jason Collins, Barack H. Obama
* Jayne Greenberg , Barack H. Obama
* LTG Mark Hertling, Barack H. Obama
* Anthony Robles, Barack H. Obama
* Rob Shepardson, Barack H. Obama
###
About the National Fitness Foundation
The National Fitness Foundation leads programs and drives innovations that prepare children for a lifetime of health & fitness. As the official congressionally chartered nonprofit of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition, the Foundation uses public-private partnerships to increase physical activity participation and improve fitness levels for millions of kids across the country. With the focus on enhancing quality physical education, the Foundation leads the nation’s model for fitness assessment and education in schools and has delivered trainings and grants to thousands of schools nationwide. For more information, visit fitness.foundation
Dan Gable Bio (from DanGable.com)
During his prep and college Wrestling careers, Dan Gable compiled an unbelievable record of 181-1. He was undefeated in 64 prep matches, and was 117-1 at Iowa State University. His only defeat came in the NCAA finals his senior year. Gable was a two time NCAA National Wrestling Champion and three-time all-American and three-time Big Eight champion. He set NCAA records in winning and pin streaks.
After college, Gable added titles at the 1971 Pan American Games in Cali Columbia and World Championships in Sofia Bulgaria and in 1972 the Soviet Union’s famed Tbilisi Tournament in Tblisi Georgia. He won an unprecedented six Midlands Open championships and was that meet’s outstanding wrestler five times. Gable won a Gold Medal at famed 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich Germany without surrendering a single point. The Soviets came to the Olympics with only one goal in mind: to defeat Gable. They were unsuccessful.
In Gable’s final 21 Olympic qualification and Olympic matches, he scored 12 falls and outscored his nine other opponents, 130-1.
Gable joined the Iowa coaching staff in 1972, assisting head coach and Hall of Famer Gary Kurdelmeier until taking over the program in 1976.
As the University of Iowa’s all-time winningest coach from 1976 to 1997, Gable won 15 NCAA National Wrestling Team Titles while compiling a career record of 355-21-5, He coached 152 All-Americans, 45 National Champions, 106 Big Ten Champions and 12 Olympians, including four gold, one silver and three bronze medalists. The Hawkeyes won 25 consecutive Big Ten championships, 21 under Gable as head coach and four while he was an assistant coach and administrator. He had a winning percentage of .932 and captured nine consecutive (1978-86) NCAA Championships. At the time that equaled the longest streak of national titles won by any school in any sport, and is also held by Yale golf (1905-13) and Southern Cal track (1935-43).
On only five occasions did a Gable-coached team lose more than one dual meet in a year. In fact, Gable’s teams averaged over 17 wins and just one loss per season. The 1996-97 season added the final chapter to Gable’s storied career. In late January, he underwent hip replacement surgery, missing four dual meets while recuperating. He reappeared in the Hawkeyes’ corner just in time to lead the team to their 24th consecutive Big Ten title and 17th NCAA title. Iowa shattered its own NCAA team points record, scoring 170 points during the three-day tournament in Cedar Falls.
Gable has coached many United States teams in International Freestyle competition. He is a three-time Olympic head coach (1980, 1984 and 2000). The 1984 Olympic team, which featured four Hawkeyes, won seven gold medals. He was an assistant freestyle coach at the 1976 and 1988 Olympics. Gable also served as head coach of the World Team in 1977, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1994 and 1999, as well as 10 World Cup teams winning three team golds in the World Cup competition. Gable also coached the U.S. team to a bronze medal at the 1986 Goodwill Games, and has led several all-star teams to Europe and the Soviet Union.
Gable has been named to several Halls of Fame including but not limited to the USA Wrestling Hall of Fame, the US Olympic Hall of Fame, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Stillwater, OK and is the name sake of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, IA. He selected the nation’s outstanding wrestler by the AAU in 1970, and the US Wrestling Federation in 1971. Gable was the Amateur Wrestling News “Man of the Year” in 1970.
In June 2002, he was appointed to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Several networks, including ESPN and HBO have aired documentaries on Gable’s life and accomplishments.
Some of his most recent accolades include being named the top wrestler of the 20th Century by Gannett News Service; listed as one of the top coaches in the 20th Century by ESPN and named Iowa’s top “sports figure” in the past 100 years. In 1996, Gable was named one of the “100 Golden Olympians”, an honor bestowed to the top 100 U.S. Olympians of all time. During the 2012 Olympics Gable was inducted into the FILA Hall of Fame Legends of the Sport category. Only the 3rd person in the World to have this honor bestowed upon them.
Gable resides in Iowa City with his wife Kathy and has four daughters, Jenni Mitchell(Brian), Annie Gavin(Mike), Molly Olszta(Danny) and Mackenzie McCord(Justin) and nine grandchildren, Gable, Danny, Jake, Elsie, Eliza, Betsy, Mickey, Louie and Archie.
Anthony Robles "My Story" (from AnthonyRobles.com)
On July 20, 1988, the doctors were not prepared when, Judy Robles, age 16, gave birth to a baby boy who was missing his right leg. The doctors could not explain what went wrong or why I was missing a leg. My mom, however, always told me growing up that "God made me this way for a reason" and she made me believe it.
I finally realized what that reason was when at the age of 14, in Mesa, Arizona, I tried out for the wrestling team. My first year was horrible. I was the smallest kid on the team weighing in at a whopping ninety pounds and without question, the worst wrestler; finishing my first year with 5-8 record and in last place at the Mesa City wrestling tournament. Not many people believed that a tiny kid born with one leg, the worst wrestler in the city, would ever excel in such a demanding sport.
However, with the support of my family and my coaches, I believed I could one day be a champion wrestler; I believed that I could be UNSTOPPABLE. Despite various obstacles along the way, I went from being last in the city to finishing my junior and senior years at Mesa High School with a 96-0 record, a 2-time Arizona State Champion and a high school National Champion. Despite finishing with an awesome high school record, few college wrestling programs believed I could excel at the next level. They thought I was too small to wrestle in college and that a one legged wrestler could never compete with the nation's best college wrestlers. My mom raised me with my head in the clouds, so I believed I could do anything I set my mind to.
This way of thinking compelled me to walk onto the Arizona State University wrestling team to prove to them, and the world, anything was possible. Through trials and hardships, both on and off the wrestling mat, I finished as a 3-time All-American and the 2011 NCAA National Champion. Although my competition days on the mat are over, I will continue to wrestle the opponents life brings my way all the while believing that I am UNSTOPPABLE.
Fitness Leaders Join Foundation to Champion a More Active Future
Washington, DC (February 28, 2018) – Today the National Fitness Foundation is proud to announce the establishment of its Honorary Board. As the official charity of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition, the inaugural Honorary Board consists of 27 former members of the Council spanning across eight Presidential Administrations.
Two of those selected for this Honorary Board are from the wrestling community, Olympic champion and legendary coach Dan Gable and NCAA champion and inspiring athlete Anthony Robles.
Gable was a 1972 Olympic champion and 1971 World champion athlete, who won two NCAA titles for Iowa State. Coach for the University of Iowa, he led the Hawekeyes to 15 NCAA titles in 21 years. He has also coached numerous U.S. Olympic, World and World Cup teams.
Robles was an NCAA Div. I champion for Arizona State and a three-time All-American, in spite of being born without a right leg. His personal story has inspired people worldwide, and Robles is a television announcer and public speaker who continues to impact many lives.
The Foundation was congressionally chartered in 2010 as a non-partisan nonprofit to support the mission of the Council. The new Honorary Board is designed to commemorate the dedicated service of proven health & fitness leaders and provide them with the opportunity to engage in their work leading programs and driving innovations that prepare children for a lifetime of health & fitness.
“As a former Co-Chair of the President’s Council and Board Member of the National Fitness Foundation, I am honored to welcome these extraordinary leaders to our Honorary Board,” said Tom McMillen, CEO of the LEAD1 Association. “We applaud their commitment to our mission and I look forward to building on their legacy to accelerate solutions that empower kids to lead active, healthy lives.”
Honorary Board Member/Presidential Administration
* Judi Ford Nash, Richard M. Nixon & Gerald R. Ford
* C. Thomas McMillen, Richard M. Nixon & William J. Clinton
* Claude Terry, James E. Carter
* Jere W. Thompson, Ronald W. Reagan
* Jackie Joyner-Kersee, George H. W. Bush
* Myrna Partrich, George H. W. Bush
* Gary Visconti, George H. W. Bush
* Don Casey, William J. Clinton
* Veronica Goldberg, William J. Clinton
* Deborah Slaner Larkin, William J. Clinton
* Catherine Baase, George W. Bush
* J. Nick Baird, George W. Bush
* Paul Carrozza, George W. Bush
* Katherine Cosgrove Van Horn, George W. Bush
* Amanda Cromwell, George W. Bush
* Pamela Danberg, George W. Bush
* Jaime Davidson, George W. Bush
* Dan Gable, George W. Bush
* Lillian Greene-Chamberlain, George W. Bush
* Edward Laskowski, George W. Bush
* Jerry Noyce, George W. Bush
* Caitlin Cahow, Barack H. Obama
* Jason Collins, Barack H. Obama
* Jayne Greenberg , Barack H. Obama
* LTG Mark Hertling, Barack H. Obama
* Anthony Robles, Barack H. Obama
* Rob Shepardson, Barack H. Obama
###
About the National Fitness Foundation
The National Fitness Foundation leads programs and drives innovations that prepare children for a lifetime of health & fitness. As the official congressionally chartered nonprofit of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition, the Foundation uses public-private partnerships to increase physical activity participation and improve fitness levels for millions of kids across the country. With the focus on enhancing quality physical education, the Foundation leads the nation’s model for fitness assessment and education in schools and has delivered trainings and grants to thousands of schools nationwide. For more information, visit fitness.foundation
Dan Gable Bio (from DanGable.com)
During his prep and college Wrestling careers, Dan Gable compiled an unbelievable record of 181-1. He was undefeated in 64 prep matches, and was 117-1 at Iowa State University. His only defeat came in the NCAA finals his senior year. Gable was a two time NCAA National Wrestling Champion and three-time all-American and three-time Big Eight champion. He set NCAA records in winning and pin streaks.
After college, Gable added titles at the 1971 Pan American Games in Cali Columbia and World Championships in Sofia Bulgaria and in 1972 the Soviet Union’s famed Tbilisi Tournament in Tblisi Georgia. He won an unprecedented six Midlands Open championships and was that meet’s outstanding wrestler five times. Gable won a Gold Medal at famed 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich Germany without surrendering a single point. The Soviets came to the Olympics with only one goal in mind: to defeat Gable. They were unsuccessful.
In Gable’s final 21 Olympic qualification and Olympic matches, he scored 12 falls and outscored his nine other opponents, 130-1.
Gable joined the Iowa coaching staff in 1972, assisting head coach and Hall of Famer Gary Kurdelmeier until taking over the program in 1976.
As the University of Iowa’s all-time winningest coach from 1976 to 1997, Gable won 15 NCAA National Wrestling Team Titles while compiling a career record of 355-21-5, He coached 152 All-Americans, 45 National Champions, 106 Big Ten Champions and 12 Olympians, including four gold, one silver and three bronze medalists. The Hawkeyes won 25 consecutive Big Ten championships, 21 under Gable as head coach and four while he was an assistant coach and administrator. He had a winning percentage of .932 and captured nine consecutive (1978-86) NCAA Championships. At the time that equaled the longest streak of national titles won by any school in any sport, and is also held by Yale golf (1905-13) and Southern Cal track (1935-43).
On only five occasions did a Gable-coached team lose more than one dual meet in a year. In fact, Gable’s teams averaged over 17 wins and just one loss per season. The 1996-97 season added the final chapter to Gable’s storied career. In late January, he underwent hip replacement surgery, missing four dual meets while recuperating. He reappeared in the Hawkeyes’ corner just in time to lead the team to their 24th consecutive Big Ten title and 17th NCAA title. Iowa shattered its own NCAA team points record, scoring 170 points during the three-day tournament in Cedar Falls.
Gable has coached many United States teams in International Freestyle competition. He is a three-time Olympic head coach (1980, 1984 and 2000). The 1984 Olympic team, which featured four Hawkeyes, won seven gold medals. He was an assistant freestyle coach at the 1976 and 1988 Olympics. Gable also served as head coach of the World Team in 1977, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1994 and 1999, as well as 10 World Cup teams winning three team golds in the World Cup competition. Gable also coached the U.S. team to a bronze medal at the 1986 Goodwill Games, and has led several all-star teams to Europe and the Soviet Union.
Gable has been named to several Halls of Fame including but not limited to the USA Wrestling Hall of Fame, the US Olympic Hall of Fame, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Stillwater, OK and is the name sake of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, IA. He selected the nation’s outstanding wrestler by the AAU in 1970, and the US Wrestling Federation in 1971. Gable was the Amateur Wrestling News “Man of the Year” in 1970.
In June 2002, he was appointed to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Several networks, including ESPN and HBO have aired documentaries on Gable’s life and accomplishments.
Some of his most recent accolades include being named the top wrestler of the 20th Century by Gannett News Service; listed as one of the top coaches in the 20th Century by ESPN and named Iowa’s top “sports figure” in the past 100 years. In 1996, Gable was named one of the “100 Golden Olympians”, an honor bestowed to the top 100 U.S. Olympians of all time. During the 2012 Olympics Gable was inducted into the FILA Hall of Fame Legends of the Sport category. Only the 3rd person in the World to have this honor bestowed upon them.
Gable resides in Iowa City with his wife Kathy and has four daughters, Jenni Mitchell(Brian), Annie Gavin(Mike), Molly Olszta(Danny) and Mackenzie McCord(Justin) and nine grandchildren, Gable, Danny, Jake, Elsie, Eliza, Betsy, Mickey, Louie and Archie.
Anthony Robles "My Story" (from AnthonyRobles.com)
On July 20, 1988, the doctors were not prepared when, Judy Robles, age 16, gave birth to a baby boy who was missing his right leg. The doctors could not explain what went wrong or why I was missing a leg. My mom, however, always told me growing up that "God made me this way for a reason" and she made me believe it.
I finally realized what that reason was when at the age of 14, in Mesa, Arizona, I tried out for the wrestling team. My first year was horrible. I was the smallest kid on the team weighing in at a whopping ninety pounds and without question, the worst wrestler; finishing my first year with 5-8 record and in last place at the Mesa City wrestling tournament. Not many people believed that a tiny kid born with one leg, the worst wrestler in the city, would ever excel in such a demanding sport.
However, with the support of my family and my coaches, I believed I could one day be a champion wrestler; I believed that I could be UNSTOPPABLE. Despite various obstacles along the way, I went from being last in the city to finishing my junior and senior years at Mesa High School with a 96-0 record, a 2-time Arizona State Champion and a high school National Champion. Despite finishing with an awesome high school record, few college wrestling programs believed I could excel at the next level. They thought I was too small to wrestle in college and that a one legged wrestler could never compete with the nation's best college wrestlers. My mom raised me with my head in the clouds, so I believed I could do anything I set my mind to.
This way of thinking compelled me to walk onto the Arizona State University wrestling team to prove to them, and the world, anything was possible. Through trials and hardships, both on and off the wrestling mat, I finished as a 3-time All-American and the 2011 NCAA National Champion. Although my competition days on the mat are over, I will continue to wrestle the opponents life brings my way all the while believing that I am UNSTOPPABLE.
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