Athletes are known to push their bodies to the limit in order to take home the win, but in Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle‘s case, he defied the odds and beat his competition while suffering from a broken neck. In an interview with Joe Rogan on YouTube, Angle discussed the sacrifices it took to win such a coveted prize in the face of adversity.
Kurt Angle is one of the most decorated American professional wrestlers of all time as well as being one of only four men to win the Junior Nationals, NCAA, World Championships, and The Olympics, which is referred to as the amateur grand slam. Angle was named best shoot wrestler by USA Wrestling and was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
Kurt Angle has also received the WWF Championship, the WWE championship four times, as well as The World Heavyweight Championship. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017. Over his career, Kurt Angle has acquired over 21 professional wrestling championship wins and was a 13-time world champion.
Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle Reveals How He Won With A Broken Neck
While Kurt Angle is an accomplished wrestler with many accolades over the course of his career, Angle’s most notable highlight saw him win the Gold medal at the 1996 Olympics while suffering from a broken neck.
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In his admission to the podcast host, Angle shares how it was even possible to compete given the condition of his neck.
“I didn’t have a choice, what happened was I got thrown on my head the first round of the Olympic trials and I broke my neck and didn’t know it so I kept wrestling. My arms were numb and my neck was in excruciating pain and I wrestled through the semi’s and won and I had to go onto the finals and wrestle and I won there.
So I won the first round of Olympic trials with my neck broken. I went home the next day and went to the doctor and he took an MRI of my neck and said you have four broken vertebrates and two disks sticking directly in your spinal cord. He said you can’t wrestle anymore you are done. I was devastated” Kurt Angle said.
After finding out his neck was truly broken, Angle wasn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet. He was determined to continue competing, underlining that “this is my one shot.”
“I figured I’d better get a second opinion. I went to another doctor and he said basically the same thing but he said ‘When is the next round of the trials’ I said six weeks and he said ‘I might be able to get you ready by then’ I said well what’s your plan. He said ‘Well, you’re not gonna be able to train much, you’re gonna have to let your neck rest and heal over the next six weeks.
It’s not gonna be completely healed but it will be healed enough that you can still go and what I’m gonna do is have a doctor travel with you and this doctor is gonna stick you with 12 shots of novocaine in your neck five minutes before each one of your matches. Therefore you won’t feel the pain you’ll forget your neck is broken and you’ll wrestle more freely but I’m warning you an hour after your matches are over you are gonna be in excruciating pain from the abuse your neck takes during the matches’ and it worked.”
“I didn’t have a choice it was no guarantee I was going to make the Olympic team in 2000 or 2004 this is my one time. This is my one shot.”
“So I went to the Olympics and we did the same thing there and I was able to get through it and that’s when I retired and I retired for a few years.”
Kurt Angle, despite retiring for a few years following his gold medal win to recover, still suffered from complications caused by his initial neck injury. This injury was only one of many he received during his time competing.
“I always had problems with it. Especially my motor skills in my hands. I broke my neck four more times in WWE and it got worse and worse I mean I have nerve damage in my neck I lost three inches in my arm that they atrophied because my neck was just so messed up. I’ve had five surgeries and none of them have really worked. I’m gonna end up having to have fusions.”
Joe Rogan follows up by inquiring about whether Angle had looked into stem cell treatments to aid in his recovery. In response, Kurt Angle expressed that it unfortunately did not work for him.
“I tried it didn’t work. I went to South America, I forget which country, Columbia. It didn’t work for me. Just too much damage.”
“I can’t feel my pinky fingers. I have a lot of atrophy in my arms I don’t have a lot of strength. I can curl like 20-pound dumbbells. When I do triceps I can only push the weights about 60 pounds forward I don’t have a lot of strength in my upper body.”
“If you look at my chest I have a dip that’s from my neck that’s a nerve that died. I no longer have this muscle in my chest. I have a complete ripple through my chest that will never come back and I’m afraid it’s gonna happen again so I’m gonna have to have fusions sooner than later cause if I don’t the damage is going to get worse and worse and then my arms are gonna end up shrinking to nothing.”
Kurt Angle is still actively looking into ways to correct the damage and is seeking guidance from a doctor in New York.
“I just got an email from a doctor in New York and he told me he was doing it so I’m going to call him in the next couple of weeks to see if we can set up an appointment.”
Although stem cell therapy didn’t work for Kurt Angle, other athletes have had much better results and have seen massive improvements in their mobility. This includes bodybuilding legend Dorian Yates who has enjoyed more pain-free movement, helping him avoid surgery.
Additionally, “The King” Ronnie Coleman recently shared that he is feeling more like his old self again following his stem cell treatments and added that he’s reduced his painkiller consumption by a significant margin.
Despite numerous obstacles and setbacks, Kurt Angle is a living legend and an inspiration to fans, having bravely journeyed to become an Olympic gold medalist.
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