Ben Peterson, a two-time Olympic medalist (gold and silver) and Executive Director of Camp of Champs, enters his 11th season as an assistant wrestling coach at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2022-23.
Camp of Champs
Peterson recently released "Road to Gold", the story of his ascension to two NCAA championships and an Olympic gold medal.
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The story details the journey of Peterson and his older brother, John, who also claimed Olympic gold. The Peterson family grew up on a dairy farm in Comstock, Wis., and attended Cumberland High School.
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Peterson won two national championships at 190 pounds as a student-athlete at Division I Iowa State University. He won an Olympic gold medal at the 1972 Summer Games in Munich, Germany, claiming the title in the 90-kilogram weight class in the freestyle division.
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Peterson earned a silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympic Games in Montreal in the same event, and won five Amateur Athletic Union championships during his career.
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Peterson works with the team every Tuesday as a motivational speaker, and works with student-athletes individually on personal development.
Peterson is a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (1986 inductee), the Iowa State University Athletic Hall of Fame (1998) and the Cumberland High School Athletic Hall of Fame (2014). He is also a member of the Athletic Hall of Fame at Maranatha Baptist Bible College (2005), where he served as head wrestling coach for 27 1/2 years, and the National Christian College Athletic Association Hall of Fame (2004).
