Sad deal...One of the greats!

http://www.themat.com/section.php?section_id=3&page=showarticle&ArticleID=25650

By USA Wrestling
10/24/2012

Jeff Blatnick, who became a national hero after winning an Olympic gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling, has died at age 55.

Television station WNYT in Albany, N.Y., confirmed today that Blatnick has died following complications from heart surgery in his native New York.

Blatnick earned a gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. He also was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team. He became an international hero after he defeated Hodgkins Disease, a form of cancer, prior to winning his Olympic title.

He was a star at Springfield College, and a high school state champion in New York at Niskayuna High School from the Albany area.

He competed for the legendary Doug Parker at Springfield College, where he was a two-time Div. II national champion and three-time All-American. At the time, Div. II athletes could advance to the Div. I nationals, and he was also a two-time Div. I All-American, placing third in the 1979 NCAA Championships and sixth in the 1978 NCAA Championships.

He has served as USA Wrestling's state chairman in New York, and has been involved as a wrestling commentator for NBC and ESPN. He also served as a motivational speaker and worked as an ambassador with the U.S. Olympic Committee.

The U.S. Olympic family suffered a great loss today. The following statement is attributable to USOC CEO Scott Blackmun on the untimely death of Jeff Blatnick:

“The U.S. Olympic family has a heavy heart today following the passing of Jeff Blatnick. An Olympic gold medalist and the flag bearer for Team USA at the 1984 Closing Ceremony in LA, Jeff was a legend in the sport of wrestling and a true champion who remained active in Olympic sport for the last 30+ years. Whether it was youth coaching or participating in the USOC ambassador program prior to the London Games, Jeff was always willing to share his story and lend his considerable talents to growing the sport of wrestling and inspiring young men and women to always do their best. Our sincere condolences go out to Jeff’s family and friends. He will be missed.”

Those who worked with Jeff and shared his life journey share a sense of loss.

"It is a great tragedy for wrestling in general, and for New York wrestling also. He was our New York state chairman, and has been doing a phenomenal job. I am saddened for his wife and two children. I am feeling the greatest saddness," said Joe DeMeo, the Greco-Roman who coached Blatnick with the ATWA club in Albany and is a close friend.

USA Wrestling National Greco-Roman Coach Steve Fraser won a gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games and was a teammate of Jeff's at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Fraser and Blatnick were the first two U.S. Greco-Roman wrestlers to ever win an Olympic gold medal.

"I am devastated that Jeff Blatnick, who was a great Greco-Roman champion, has passed away. He was on two Olympic teams, was a gold medalist with me in Los Angeles and a great friend. I am stunned by it. I talked to him just a few weeks ago, about his work with our state association in New York and how we can promote Greco-Roman wrestling. I am heartbroken. He has done so much for the sport as an athlete, an announcer, a leader and a spokesman. My prayers go out to his family," said Fraser.

Blatnick was inducted as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1999. Below is his Hall of Fame biography.

Distinguished Member Jeff Blatnick
Inducted in 1999

Jeff Blatnick said,"If you can win in adversity, you can win anywhere!" This quote exemplifies his achievements in all aspects of life and illustrates his determination in the world of wrestling.

Blatnick began his wrestling career in 1973 at Niskayuna High School in Schenectady, New York. In his three years of varsity wrestling he compiled a record of 62-19-0, and was the NYS Heavyweight champion in 1975.

He continued his list of accomplishments at Springfield College, MA. There he became a two time Division II National champion, and a three time Division II All-American. He also was third in the 1979 NCAA Division I meet as a senior.

It was in Greco-Roman wrestling that Blatnick made his greatest impact. He qualified for the 1980 Olympic Greco-Roman team, but was unable to compete due to the government boycott of the Moscow Games. Four years later, though, he returned to become one of only two U.S. Wrestlers to win the Olympics in Greco-Roman.

He was a three-time national champion in Greco-Roman and won eight Greco-Roman All-American awards. He won two World Cup medals and also won two Freestyle All-American honors.

Blatnick's greatest victory, however, occurred before he ever made it to the 1984 Olympics. On the path to his Olympic Gold Medal, he conquered his greatest opponent, Hodgkin's Disease, a form of cancer.

He has continued to serve the sport of wrestling by serving on USA Wrestling Board of Directors for many years, and through his work as a wrestling broadcaster.

As one of the most well known and respected wrestlers, as well as a hero to many, Jeff Blatnick is honored as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

A tremendous loss.

Jeff Blatnick, 55, Dies; Won Olympic Gold in Wrestling

By MARGALIT FOX

The New York Times

Published: October 24, 2012

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/25/sports...at-55.html?_r=0

Jeff Blatnick, who overcame cancer to win a gold medal for the United States in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1984 Olympics, died on Wednesday in Schenectady, N.Y. He was 55.




Enlarge This Image

United Press International

Jeff Blatnick, top, defeated Thomas Johansson to win a gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1984 Olympics.


The cause was complications of heart surgery, his wife, Lori, said.

Competing in the super heavyweight class at the Summer Games in Los Angeles, Blatnick, 6 feet 2 inches and 248 pounds, defeated Thomas Johansson of Sweden to take Olympic gold.

Blatnick and his teammate Steve Fraser, who competed in the 198-pound weight class at those Games, became the first Americans to win Olympic gold medals in Greco-Roman wrestling, which allows holds only above the waist. Blatnick’s win came barely two years after his victory over cancer.

After retiring from wrestling in 1988, Blatnick worked as a motivational speaker and as a network television wrestling analyst. At his death, he was a varsity wrestling coach at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School, north of Albany.

Jeffrey Carl Blatnick was born on July 26, 1957, in Niskayuna, N.Y., near Schenectady. He began wrestling in high school, becoming the state heavyweight champion in 1975. At Springfield College in Massachusetts, from which he earned a degree in physical education in 1979, he was a two-time N.C.A.A. Division II national champion and a three-time Division II all-American.

Blatnick was named to the Olympic Greco-Roman team in 1980; the United States boycotted the Moscow Games that year to protest the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.

In 1982 Blatnick developed Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer that attacks the spleen and other organs. After surgery to remove his spleen, followed by radiation, he resumed training and made the 1984 Olympic team.

Blatnick, who lived in Ballston Lake, was inducted into the United States Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1999. He was also a longtime commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, a mixed martial arts promotion company.

Besides his wife, the former Lori Nowak, Blatnick is survived by his mother, Angela; a brother, Andrew; a son, Ian; and a daughter, Niki.

Blatnick, who was chosen by his teammates to carry the American flag at the closing ceremony of the ’84 Games, was philosophical about his renown.

“If I didn’t have cancer, nobody would know who I was,” he told The Lancaster New Era, a Pennsylvania newspaper, in 2007. “Not a lot of wrestlers make the news.”

Jeff Blatnick, wrestling great who overcame cancer to win Olympic gold in 1984, dies at age 55



THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: October 24, 2012 - 6:48 pm
Last Updated: October 24, 2012 - 6:49 pm




SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — Jeff Blatnick, who overcame cancer to win a gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1984 Summer Olympics and went on to a career as a sports commentator and motivational speaker, died Wednesday in New York state at age 55.

Officials at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady, N.Y., said he died there of heart failure.

Blatnick was a high school state champion in suburban Albany in the mid-1970s and was a two-time Division II National champion and three-time Division II All-American at Springfield College in Massachusetts.

He qualified for the U.S. Olympic team and was a member of the 1980 squad that didn't compete because the U.S. boycotted that year's games in Moscow.

In 1982, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. He was treated and the disease went into remission before he won the gold as a super heavyweight in Los Angeles in 1984.

Blatnick was also a three-time Greco-Roman national champion and won eight Greco-Roman All-American awards, two World Cup medals and two Freestyle All-American honors.

USA Wrestling National Greco-Roman Coach Steve Fraser also won a gold medal at the 1984 games as a teammate of Blatnick. Fraser and Blatnick were the first two U.S. Greco-Roman wrestlers to ever win gold medals.

"I am devastated that Jeff Blatnick, who was a great Greco-Roman champion, has passed away," Fraser said. "I am stunned by it."

Fraser talked to Blatnick a few weeks ago about working to promote Greco-Roman wrestling.

"I am heartbroken," he said. "He has done so much for the sport as an athlete, an announcer, a leader and a spokesman. My prayers go out to his family."

Joe Bena, who coached Blatnick at Niskayuna High School, said he found himself in 1972 without a wrestler over 200 pounds.

"I went into the halls looking for a big kid," he said. Bena found Blatnick, a basketball player who initially said he didn't want to wrestle.

"Three years later, he was state champ," the longtime coach said.
Blatnick later returned to the Albany area and worked steadily with youngsters, Bena said, describing him as a "humble guy, down to earth ... he never boasted."

Bob McGuire, the athletic director at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School, recalled Blatnick asking if he could be a volunteer varsity wrestling coach at the school.

"What do you say when you hear that from an Olympic champion," he said Wednesday. "You open the door and say 'Come on in.'"

Blatnick spent six years volunteering at the school.

"When you're talking about high school sports, you're always looking for that special individual who will be a role model for a lot of different children," he said. "And Jeff Blatnick was that person."

Blatnick also was successful as a motivational speaker and television commentator. He was an NBC Olympic wrestling analyst in Seoul in 1988, Barcelona in 1992, and Atlanta in 1996 among other assignments, according to his website.

___

Associated Press writer George M. Walsh contributed to this report from Albany, N.Y. AP Sports Writer Luke Meredith contributed from Des Moines, Iowa