John William Smith (born 9 August 1965 (age 46)) is a successful college wrestler

Amateur wrestling

Amateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of FILA : Greco-Roman and freestyle. Freestyle is possibly derived from the English Lancashire style...

, 6-time World Champion, 2-time Olympic Games

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 champion, and is currently the head coach of wrestling

Collegiate wrestling

Collegiate wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the collegiate and university level in the United States. Collegiate wrestling emerged from the folk wrestling styles practised in the early history of the United States...

 at Oklahoma State University

Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestling

The Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestling team is a NCAA Division I wrestling program and is one of five Big 12 Conference schools which participate in wrestling. Since the team's first season in 1914-15, it has won thirty-four team national championships , 133 individual NCAA championships, and 213...

.

High school career

Smith grew up in a wrestling family in Del City, Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

, a suburb of Oklahoma City

Oklahoma city

Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...

. His high school career record is 105-5. His older brother Leroy and younger brother Pat Smith

Pat Smith

Pat Smith is a former collegiate wrestler at Oklahoma State University and a former assistant coach at OSU. During his collegiate wrestling career, he became the first four-time NCAA wrestling champion in the sports history, a feat only equalled one other time by Cael Sanderson. Smith resigned...

 also wrestled for Del City High School and Oklahoma State University. All three became national champions in college. The youngest Smith brother, Mark, wrestled at Oklahoma State and was also an All-American. Smith's nephew, Mark Perry, was a national collegiate champion while wrestling for the University of Iowa

University of Iowa

The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...

.

College and freestyle career

Smith's college career record is 154-7; his domestic freestyle record is 80-0; and his international freestyle record is 100-5.

1984

• In Smith's freshman
  Freshman
  A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
  
   year of NCAA competition, he did not place at the NCAA Tournament.

1985

• In Smith's sophomore year of NCAA competition, he was a Big Eight Runner-up and an NCAA Runner-up.
• USA Junior Freestyle Champion.d Freestyle Champion.

1986

• Smith took a redshirt year and did not compete in NCAA competition.
• USA Senior Freestyle Champion.
• Goodwill Games Champion.

1987

• In Smith's redshirt junior year of NCAA competition, he was a Big Eight Champion and an NCAA Champion.
• Pan American Champion.
• FILA Senior World Freestyle Champion
  1987 FILA Wrestling World Championships
  The following is the final results of the 1987 FILA Wrestling World Championships. Men's Competition were held in Clermont-Ferrand, France and Women's Competition were held in Lørenskog, Norway.-Medal table:-Freestyle:-Greco-Roman:-Freestyle:...
  
  

1988

• In Smith's redshirt senior year of NCAA competition, he was a Big Eight Champion and an NCAA Champion.
• USA Senior Freestyle Champion.
• Olympic Freestyle Champion.

1989

• World Cup champion
• USA Senior Freestyle Champion.
• FILA Senior World Freestyle Champion
  1989 FILA Wrestling World Championships
  -Medal table:-Freestyle:-Greco-Roman:-Freestyle:-See also:List of World and Olympic Champions in men's freestyle wrestlingList of World and Olympic Champions in Greco-Roman wrestlingUnited States results in men's freestyle wrestling-References:*...
  
  

1990

• USA senior freestyle champion.
• FILA Senior World Freestyle Champion
  1990 FILA Wrestling World Championships
  The following is the final results of the 1990 FILA Wrestling World Championships. The Men's Freestyle Competition was held in Tokyo, Japan. Men's Greco-Roman Competition was held in Ostia, Italy and Women's Competition was held in Luleå, Sweden.-Medal table:...
  
  .
• Goodwill Games Champion.

1991

• World Cup Champion
• USA Senior Freestyle Champion.
• FILA Senior World Freestyle Champion
  1991 FILA Wrestling World Championships
  The following is the final results of the 1991 FILA Wrestling World Championships. Men's competition were held in Varna, Bulgaria and Women's competition were held in Tokyo, Japan.-Medal table:-Freestyle:-Greco-Roman:-Freestyle:-See also:...
  
  .

Coaching career

• Smith became the head wrestling coach at Oklahoma State University beginning with the 1991-1992 season. He succeeded Joe Seay, who resigned during an investigation by the NCAA. Smith has coached at OSU for 18 seasons, longer than any other Cowboy mentor except the legendary Edward Gallagher. Smith has a dual meet record of 281-42-4 and the 281 wins are an Oklahoma State record.
• His teams have won five NCAA wrestling team titles, in 1994 and 2003 through 2006. His wrestlers have won 23 individual NCAA titles and 85 All-American honors. Smith has also captured 10 conference (Big Eight
  Big Eight Conference
  The Big Eight Conference, a former NCAA-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football, was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association by its charter member schools: the University of Kansas, University of Missouri, University...
  
   and Big 12) team titles and his wrestlers have won 62 conference crowns.

Other honors

• Smith was the first American to be chosen Master of Technique and Wrestler of the Year by the International Wrestling Federation (FILA).
• Smith was the first wrestler to be voted the James E. Sullivan Award as America's outstanding athlete.
• Smith was the first wrestler ever nominated for the World Trophy, which he received in 1992.
• Smith was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1997.
• His home high school (Del City High School) in Del City, Oklahoma, bears his name on the field house.
• Smith is a member of the Oklahoma Alpha (Oklahoma State) chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon
• Smith also has a move named after him, the John Smith single.

External links

• Wrestling Hall of Fame - Coach
• Wrestling Hall of Fame - Wrestler
• Biography at okstate.com
• Collegiate Record - Wrestler
• Collegiate Record - Coach
• John Smith Videos-MatDaddy.com

Video Interviews

• Flowrestling coverage of John Smith