Olympic Games Gold Medalist Athlete. He began his wrestling career in 1973 at Niskayuna High School in New York, where he became the state heavyweight champion in 1975, and went on to become a two-time Division II national champion and three-time Division II All-American at Springfield College in Massachusetts. He qualified for the United States Olympic team and was a member of the 1980 squad that didn't compete because the United States boycotted that year's Summer Olympic Games in Moscow, Soviet Union. In 1982, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, which prompted the removal of his spleen and appendix, followed by radiation therapy which held the cancer in remission. Blatnick competed in and won a Gold Medal in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California, where he and his teammate, Steve Fraser, were the first Americans to ever win gold in Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling history. He carried the United States flag at the closing ceremony. The following year he suffered a cancer relapse and overcame it again. He retired from competition in 1988 and served as a television commentator for those Summer Olympic Games. Blatnick, who was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1999, served on the United States Wrestling's board and worked as a motivational speaker, died following complications from heart surgery.
Olympic Games Gold Medalist Athlete. He began his wrestling career in 1973 at Niskayuna High School in New York, where he became the state heavyweight champion in 1975, and went on to become a two-time Division II national champion and three-time Division II All-American at Springfield College in Massachusetts. He qualified for the United States Olympic team and was a member of the 1980 squad that didn't compete because the United States boycotted that year's Summer Olympic Games in Moscow, Soviet Union. In 1982, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, which prompted the removal of his spleen and appendix, followed by radiation therapy which held the cancer in remission. Blatnick competed in and won a Gold Medal in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California, where he and his teammate, Steve Fraser, were the first Americans to ever win gold in Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling history. He carried the United States flag at the closing ceremony. The following year he suffered a cancer relapse and overcame it again. He retired from competition in 1988 and served as a television commentator for those Summer Olympic Games. Blatnick, who was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1999, served on the United States Wrestling's board and worked as a motivational speaker, died following complications from heart surgery.
Bio by: Louis du Mort
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