published
Thursday, July 18,1996
Cambridge Springs' Baumgartner
to carry flag, Edwards to give oath
ATLANTA (AP) _ A ghost will march beside Bruce Baumgartner when he leads
the U.S. team into the 1996 Olympics.
The spirit of the late Dave Schultz will remind Baumgartner, the most decorated
freestyle wrestler in U.S. history, of the glories of the sport they loved
_ and of what might have been.
``I roomed with him in some of these same dorms and ate with him in some
of these same restaurants,'' Baumgartner said Wednesday. ``I'm constantly
thinking he was here just a year ago. I'm sure he'll be in my thoughts as
I carry the flag.''
Baumgartner, a four-time Olympian, two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time
world champion at 286 pounds, was picked Wednesday night in a vote of all
U.S. team captains in Atlanta to carry the U.S. flag in Friday night's opening
ceremonies.
Olympian and Edinboro University wrestling
coach Bruce Baumgartner, takes a breather from working out in Bloomsburg,
Pa. on March 8. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)
Schultz, like Baumgartner, was a gold medalist in 1984. He was aiming for
Atlanta when he was slain in January on the suburban Philadelphia estate
of chemical heir John E. du Pont, the patron of the Foxcatcher club where
so many top wrestlers trained.
The team captains Wednesday night also chose basketball player Teresa Edwards,
another four-time Olympian, to take the oath for all athletes at the games.
Honored earlier this year with the Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur
athlete, Baumgartner was the first wrestler picked to carry the U.S. flag
at the games. It's the highest accolade an Olympic athlete can receive from
his teammates.
Baumgartner beat out an unusually large field that reportedly also included
track's Carl Lewis and swimming's Janet Evans.
``I am honored that my peers would select me,'' said Baumgartner, 35, of
Cambridge Springs, Pa.
``I never expected this to happen, that I would wrestle for so long and
now to carry the flag in opening ceremonies of an Olympic Games in my home
country.''
A gold medal would complete an amazing span of longevity and skill. Baumgartner
won his class at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and added his second Olympic
title in Barcelona four years ago. He also won the silver medal in Seoul
in 1988. After winning the world championship last year, he is a solid choice
to add a third Olympic gold.
But it's been a strange year for Baumgartner, and for most U.S. wrestlers.
All the success has been tempered by the death of Schultz, who was training
and coaching at Foxcatcher in the middle of a successful comeback when he
was slain.
Du Pont was charged with first-degree murder. Since the shooting, law enforcement
authorities, athletes and other acquaintances have recounted a litany of
increasingly eccentric behavior on the part of one of wrestling's biggest
benefactors.
``We have a lot of veterans on this team, and we've been successful in competition
this year,'' Baumgartner said. ``Unfortunately, some of that also has come
from the tragic situation with the loss of Dave Schultz.
``There's never a day that goes by that I don't think of him.''
Edwards will celebrate her 32nd birthday by taking the Olympic Oath for
all the 10,000 athletes in the games, pledging to compete ``in the true
spirit of sportsmanship, and for the glory of sport and the honor of our
teams.'' The oath traditionally is taken by a star of the home team. Born
on July 19, 1964, in Atlanta, Edwards said it would be an unusual celebration.
``For someone who likes to have a simple birthday, it's a pretty big to-do,''
she said.
Edwards was a member of the gold-medal basketball squads in '84 and '88,
and on the bronze-medal team in 1992.
RELATED STORY: Baumgartner
rates as 1 of greatest U.S. Olympians ever
Back to TOP // Back to Herald
OLYMPICS '96 page // Back to Herald HOME
page
Updated
July 18, 1996