Related Links:
Order "Road to Gold" (online)
Order "Road to Gold" (PDF form)
Ben Peterson's Camp of Champs Web Page
WIAC Wrestling Championship Preview
 
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater assistant wrestling coach Ben Peterson recently released "Road to Gold", the story of his ascension to two NCAA championships and an Olympic gold medal.
 
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.
 
Peterson won 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.
 
Peterson earned a silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympic Games in Montreal in the same event, and win five Amateur Athletic Union championships during his career.
 
Peterson is in his fourth year as an assistant coach at UW-Whitewater. He works with the team every Tuesday as a motivational speaker, and works with student-athletes individually on personal development.
 
"To steal a line in the book from his brother, Phil, 'Ben Peterson is not normal,'" Warhawks coach Ned Shuck said. "As an athlete, coach and mentor, he has lived an extraordinarily disciplined life in pursuit of something bigger than himself. He sets the bar high and continues to be a model that we should all strive to live by."
 
Peterson has been impressed with the development of the Warhawks, who begin the postseason this Sunday at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship.
 
"This is a young team," Peterson, 65, said, "but the performance at Wheaton – where we didn't have a single individual champion but still won the tournament – shows the depth of this team."
 
In addition to his role at UW-Whitewater, Peterson serves as a part-time assistant for the Dubuque (Iowa) wrestling team, is the executive director of Camp of Champs and travels around the country for speaking engagements. He and his wife, Jan, have four children and nine (soon to be 10) grandchildren.
 
Shuck, who Peterson described as one of the hardest working college coaches he's seen, lauded Peterson's ability to work with student-athletes at the college level.
 
"Coach Peterson brings an incredible wealth of knowledge and experience that enriches every one of our Warhawk wrestlers as both athletes and, most importantly, as young men," Shuck said. "We are one of only a handful of teams at the Division I, II or III level to have a coach with multiple Olympic medals on staff, and our team is extremely grateful.
 
"I am honored to coach alongside him and am thankful for his efforts."