Donald Behm

Donald Ray "Don" Behm (born February 13, 1945 in Vancouver, Washington) is an American wrestler and coach. He was Olympic silver medalist in Freestyle wrestling in 1968.[1]

Donald Behm
Personal information
Full nameDonald Ray Behm
BornFebruary 13, 1945 (1945-02-13) (age 75)
Vancouver, Washington, U.S.
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
1968 Mexico City 57 kg

Career

The solid beginnings of his career were but a foreshadowing of the success to come. A two- time undefeated state champion, he went on to wrestle for Michigan State University. For the Spartans, he was a two- time All-American, two- time Big Ten champion and three-time Midlands champion. In his post collegiate freestyle career, Behm became a dominant and formidable force both nationally and internationally. In AAU and USWF tournaments between 1969 and 1973, he won five national championships, received All-American honors 11 times, and was twice named Outstanding Wrestler.

In the international forum, his world was gold and silver. Representing the United States in the 1968 Olympic games, Behm earned an impressive silver medal in the first and only "no match final" in the history of the sport. In 1970, he was the first American to capture a gold medal at the grueling Tbilisi tournament, wrestling seven nine-minute matches in one day![2]

  • 1968 Silver Medal 1968 Summer Olympics
  • 1969 Silver Medal World Championships 57 kg[3]
  • 1969 Gold Medal Pan American [4]
  • 1970 Gold Medal Tbilisi Tournament 57 kg [5]
  • 1971 Silver Medal World Championships 57 kg
  • 1971 Gold Medal Pan-American Games 57 kg
  • 1993 Gold Medal Veterans World Championships

Don Behm is a member the Illinois Athletic Hall of Fame, a charter member of the Midlands Hall of Fame. In 2004 he was inducted as a distinguished member into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in Stillwater, OK. In 2007 he was inducted into the Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame. In 2016 he was inducted into the Michigan State University Athletics Hall of Fame. He is only the second wrestler at MSU to be included in the Athletics Hall of Fame.

References
  1. "Don Behm". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  2. "Honoree: Don Behm". National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
  3. Bao, Robert. "Olympians – Don Behm". Michigan State University Alumni.
  4. "Spartan Wrestling Greats". Michigan State Wrestling.
  5. "Nine-member US team to compete in Siberia on Jan. 23-25". TeamUSA. Archived from the original on February 22, 2013.
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