John W. Smith

John Smith is considered by many as the greatest American wrestler ever. He is the only American wrestler to win six World titles in a career, including two Olympic gold medals.

The 1988 Oklahoma State University graduate, won his first World title in 1987 and again in 1988 at the Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea. He added three more World freestyle Championships in 1989, 1990 and 1991.

A native of Del City, Oklahoma, Smith is a three-time All-American and won back-to-back NCAA championships as a Cowboy in 1987 and 1988. He finished his collegiate career as the winningest OSU wrestler ever with a 154-7-2 record.

He was awarded the "Master of Technique" award in 1990, which honored him as the best technical wrestler in the world. Two years earlier, he was awarded the 1988 Man of the Year by Amateur Wrestling News and named the 1989 Athlete of the Year by USA Wrestling. Smith was also named Wrestler of the Year in 1991 by the Federation International de Lutte Amateur, the international governing body for amateur wrestling.

In 1992, Smith became the seventh head wrestling coach at OSU. He first served as an assistant coach from 1988-1992.

During his career, Smith competed 458 times for his school, club or country and won 436 times, for a success rate above 95 percent. He retired from competition after the Barcelona Olympics.