Match of the Day: Stephen Neal takes gold at the 1999 World Championships
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by USA Wrestling
Before Stephen Neal was a three-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots, he was a freestyle World champion for Team USA
Neal wrestled collegiality at Cal State, Bakersfield where he was four-time All-American, three-time NCAA finalist and two-time NCAA champion. After his senior season in 1999, he was awarded the Dan Hodge Trophy and then would immediately go on to make the Senior World Team.
In the finals of the 1999 World Championships, Neal would square off with Andrej Shumilin of Russia for gold. Shumilin was the returning World bronze medalist and had also taken bronze in the 1993 World Championships and finished fourth at the 1996 Olympic Games.
Watch the pair battle below:
