The 1996 Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle revealed in April 2011 that he was planning a comeback to amateur wrestling for the 2012 Olympic Summer Games in London. However, upon being able to survive chair shots and terrifying maneuvers off the top of steel cages in professional wrestling, Angle’s body couldn’t keep up on the amateur circuit.
After warning the world on March 29, 2012 through a call-in on TMZ Live about suffering a possible hamstring tear, Angle said, “there’s a chance I may not go” to the Olympics this summer.
However, Angle told TMZ, “I still plan on going to the Olympics, I’ve been training for a whole year now. I’ve been very serious about this, TNA has backed me up 100%, so it all depends on how it heals.”
Angle’s plans to still go to the Olympics though are now no longer a reality.
On Thursday, April 12, 2012, the former champion of WWE and TNA Wrestling backed out of next week’s US Olympic Team Trials at the University of Iowa for a chance to earn a spot on the US freestyle team.
Angle took to Twitter yesterday to announce the news with a series of tweets:
- Due to Hamstring@Knee Injuries, I’m forced to Pull Out of trials.Had a talk W/ Usa Wrestling Coach Zeke Jones Who has Supported Me all Year
- I trained Extremely hard for a full Year. I’m Very Disappointed. I want to thank All the fans for Ur Support. U Motivated Me.
- I Must focus On TNA and Lockdown Ppv, Which Has Always Been My 1st Priority. I Hope to Be Able to Put On the Best Performance I Can.
- TNA Has Supported My Olympic Dream Since the Day I Approached Dixie Carter about My Quest for Gold! Thank You. I injured My MCL in My Knee
- The Doctors Say It’s a partial tear which will take 4-6 Months w/ rehab. I Will have It Heavily Protected at Lockdown.
- I’ve Had Prior Knee Injuries More Serious than this @ Still Won Ncaa’s but I Must Put My Job in Tna 1st. Again, thank You all for Us Support
- Ur Support. Your Prayers and Support Have motivated Me to Put On the Best Performance I Can at Lockdown, Considering My injuries.
- As Zeke Jones told Me, We Were Hoping that Father time Would Hold Off Until After London Olympics. Unfortunately It Hit Me Hard 1 Month Prior to Olympic trials.
- Thank You to All My training Partners,Especially Edinboro Univ Wrestlers and Coach Tim Flynn and Tony Dipietro
“I feel like it was a waste of time,” Angle told The Associated Press. “I get the worst injury I’ve gotten in the last year. I’ve had four or five injuries, but I’ve worked around them. This one, I can’t work around.”
At 43 years old, it just wasn’t safe for Angle to go forth with the trials, which is why US Olympic Team coach Zeke Jones advised him to withdraw from the competition.
Despite winning the gold in 1996 by defeating Iranian Abbas Jadidi via officials’ decision in the heavyweight (90-100kg; 198-220 lbs) weight class, Angle faced hardships while taking part in the 1996 Olympic Trials. He suffered a severe neck injury, fracturing two of his cervical vertebrae, herniating two discs, and pulling four muscles. Continuing on without proper care, Angle competed with several pain-reducing injections in his neck, which later led to him becoming addicted to the analgesic Vicodin.
Overcoming the horrifying addiction to Vicodin was a 10-year lesson for Angle, who ultimately left a stellar WWE career in 2006 to clean up.
He would quickly jump over to work with TNA Wrestling though, where TNA President Dixie Carter was more than willing to help Angle clean up, and today he is happily clean.
“We have such incredible, awesome competition, that with my MCL injury, they would have torn me apart,” Angle said.
Kurt Angle will continue his commitments with professional wrestling organization, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, which airs IMPACT WRESTLING every Thursday on Spike TV at 9 PM ET. This Sunday, the Olympic gold medalist battles the popular Jeff Hardy inside a steel cage at the company’s Lockdown pay-per-view event in Nashville, Tennessee.
