John Smith
Six straight world and Olympic titles off one shot
- Born
- August 9, 1965, Oklahoma City area, Oklahoma, US
- Nationality
United States- Height
- 170 cm (5′7″)
- Style
- Low-single specialist
- Weight
- 62 kg
- Active
- 1984–1992
- Status
- Retired · age 61
The record
Senior international freestyle record; college record 154-7-2 at Oklahoma State
2 Olympic golds, 4 world titles
The story
ohn Smith turned one attack into a signature. His low single, a shot aimed at the ankle, carried the Oklahoman to six straight world and Olympic titles from 1987 to 1992, with Olympic golds at 62 kg in Seoul and Barcelona. At Oklahoma State he went 154-7-2 and won NCAA titles in 1987 and 1988, and his senior international record stood at 100-5. He was the first wrestler to win the Sullivan Award as America's top amateur athlete and the first American named FILA's Master of Technique. Smith then coached his alma mater from 1991 to 2024, winning five NCAA team titles, before handing the program to David Taylor.
Tap a technique with an arrow to learn how it works.
- Olympic champion (1988, 1992)
- World champion ×4 (1987, 1989, 1990, 1991)
- Goodwill Games champion (1986, 1990)
- Pan American Games champion (1987, 1991)
- NCAA champion (1987, 1988)
- 5 NCAA team titles as Oklahoma State head coach
- National Wrestling Hall of Fame Distinguished Member (1997)
- James E. Sullivan Award (1990), the first wrestler to win it
- FILA Master of Technique and Wrestler of the Year
Defining matches
- 1987WINWorld Championships, Clermont-Ferrand (first world title)
- 1988WINvs Stepan Sarkisyan (Seoul Olympic final, 4-0)
- 1991WINWorld Championships, Varna (fourth world title)
- 1992WINBarcelona Olympics (second Olympic gold, sixth straight world/Olympic title)
Steal the low single: change levels and attack the ankle from outside your partner's reach, so they have to sprawl far lower to stop it. Drill it from open space until the level change is automatic.
1992–2004
