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Gable Statue Unveiled Prior to Olympic Trials.

Sports

April 19th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

University of Iowa officials unveiled a seven foot bronze statue of former wrestling coach Dan Gable outside of Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Wednesday. Gable led the Hawkeyes to 15 NCAA titles and 21 Big Ten championships in 21 years as head coach. The unveiling comes just days before the arena hosts the U-S Olympic wrestling trials. Olympic wrestling is divided into two divisions, freestyle and Greco-Roman, which are both different than the folk-style brand of wrestling seen in high school and college matches. Gable says it might take fans a while to pick up on all the differences. Despite the rule differences, Gable says that knowledgeable wrestling fans should have no trouble figuring things out if they stay patient. The Trials open on Saturday and run through Sunday.