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Rulon Gardner Slimming Down for Final Shot

Sports

April 6th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Former Olympic gold medalist Rulon Gardner is 40 years old, he has dropped 200 pounds and he wants to make the U.S. Olympic team headed to London this summer. If he wants to keep that dream alive, he needs to lose another 25 pounds in just 15 days. The deadline for Gardner’s comeback as a Greco-Roman heavyweight is April 20. That’s when he must weigh 264.5 pounds or less to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Iowa City, Iowa. Gardner told The Associated Press in a phone interview on Thursday that he’s “close to 290” pounds, which is slightly above his goal with two weeks to go. But Gardner says losing the weight has given him a chance to start his life over again.