Alexander Karelin was so feared, some opponents rolled onto their back in surrender rather than face the Russian legend, whose favorite tactic is to pick up an opponent and pile-drive him into the mat. When Gardner and Karelin squared off three years ago, the Russian smashed the farm boy's face into the mat three times. That's one time for every gold medal Karelin has captured in his career. Before Sydney, Gardner had never won an Olympic medal, and no one gave him a chance against the man known as The Monster. But win Rulon Gardner did.
Pundits now call it the Miracle on the Mat and rank it among the greatest upsets in Olympic history.
After defeating Karelin, an elated Gardner performed a big somersault across the world stage. He somersaulted again when he appeared on television with Jay Leno last week. He also showed up on The Late Show with David Letterman, where he read the nightly Top 10 list. On Monday, Gardner spent the day being interviewed in the CNN studios. On Tuesday, he taped a segment for the Rosie O'Donnell Show.