a victory in the finals over Mihaly Deak-Bardos of Hungary. His win made him the only American to ever win both a World and Olympic title in Greco-Roman wrestling. After the 2000 Olympics he suffered a series of injuries from both a snowmobiling and motorcycle accident. These injuries included an amputated toe and a dislocated wrist, but he still went on to win the U.S. Olympic trials for his weight class and then to compete in the 2004 Summer Olympics. He was unable to repeat his 2000 performance, coming away with the Bronze medal, and after his match, he placed his shoes in the middle of the mat as a symbol of retirement from competitive wrestling. Gardner competed once in mixed martial arts, and in 2004 he became the host for a professional wrestling league called Real Pro Wrestling. Gardner served as an analyst for NBC Sports coverage of Wrestling at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Gardner attempted a comeback for the 2012 Olympics but was unable to make the 264.5 pound max weight limit for the U.S. Olympic Trials and therefore ineligible to compete for a position on the Olympic team. Mixed martial arts On December 31, 2004, Gardner fought Hidehiko Yoshida in a judo vs wrestling mixed martial arts (MMA) bout for the Pride Fighting Championships at an event named PRIDE Shockwave 2004. Yoshida, in addition to being an Olympic gold medalist in judo, was a highly successful MMA fighter. Gardner, trained by Randy Couture at Team Quest, won the bout via unanimous decision. Mixed martial arts record |- ! style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;" | Date ! style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;" | Result ! style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;" | Record ! style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;" | Opponent ! style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;" | Event ! style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;" | Method ! style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;" | Round, Time ! style="border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;" | Notes |- | December 31, 2004 | Win | 1–0 | Hidehiko Yoshida | PRIDE Shockwave 2004 | Decision (Unanimous) | Round 3, 5:00 | |- Honors and awards Aside from his Olympic medals, his achievements include: U.S. Champion in 1995, 1997, and 2001 James E. Sullivan Award for amateur athlete of the year, 2001 Jesse Owens Award, 2001 United States Olympic Committee Sportsman of the Year, 2001 ESPY award for U.S. Male Olympic athlete of