View source for Ed Banach

{{short description|American wrestler (born 1960)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2015}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Ed Banach
| image = Ed Banach.jpg
| caption = Ed Banach in 1984
| fullname = Edward Joseph Banach
| birth_date = {{birth-date and age|February 6, 1960}}
| birth_place = [[Sussex County, New Jersey]], U.S.
| hometown = [[Port Jervis, New York]], U.S.
| height = 5 ft 10 in
| weight = 198 lb
| headercolor = lightsteelblue
| country = United States
| team = USA
| collegeteam = [[Iowa Hawkeyes wrestling|Iowa]]
| club = Hawkeye Wrestling Club
| coach = [[Dan Gable]]
| sport = [[Wrestling]]
| event = [[Freestyle wrestling|Freestyle]]<br>[[Collegiate wrestling|Folkstyle]]
| show-medals = yes
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalSport | Men's [[Wrestling at the Summer Olympics|freestyle wrestling]]}}
{{MedalCountry | the {{USA}} }}
{{MedalOlympics}}
[[File:Olympic rings.svg|center|80px]]
{{MedalGold  | [[1984 Summer Olympics|1984 Los Angeles]] | [[Wrestling at the 1984 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 90 kg|90 kg]] }}
{{MedalSport| [[Collegiate wrestling|Collegiate Wrestling]]}}
{{MedalCountry| the [[Iowa Hawkeyes wrestling|Iowa Hawkeyes]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships|NCAA Division I Championships]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1980 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships|1980 Corvallis]]|177 lb}}
{{MedalGold|[[1981 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships|1981 Princeton]]|177 lb}}
{{MedalGold|[[1983 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships|1983 Oklahoma City]]|190 lb}}
{{MedalSilver|[[1982 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships|1982 Ames]]|177 lb}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten Championships]]}}
{{MedalGold|1980 East Lansing|177 lb}}
{{MedalGold|1981 Madison|177 lb}}
{{MedalGold|1982 Ann Arbor|177 lb}}
{{MedalGold|1983 Iowa City|190 lb}}
}}
[[File:Lou and Ed Banach.jpg|thumb|Ed Banach (left) with his twin brother Lou Banach, August 1984]]

'''Edward Joseph "Ed" Banach''' (born February 6, 1960) is an athlete who won a gold medal in wrestling in the [[1984 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{cite Sports-Reference |title=Ed Banach |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ba/ed-banach-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202213829/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ba/ed-banach-1.html |archive-date=2 December 2016}}</ref> He wrestled for the [[University of Iowa]] under  coach [[Dan Gable]] from 1980 to 1983, where he was  a four-time NCAA All-American, and a three-time NCAA national champion (1980, 1981, and 1983). He was named the 1983 [[Big Ten Athlete of the Year]].

Banach and his twin brother [[Lou Banach]] were noted for both winning gold medals in wrestling in the 1984 Olympic Games, as did the Schultz brothers, [[Dave Schultz (amateur wrestler)|Dave]] and [[Mark Schultz (wrestler)|Mark]].

==Early life and education==
Ed and Lou Banach are [[fraternal twin]] brothers born in [[Sussex County, New Jersey]], sons of Wraclaw and Genevieve Banach, immigrants from Poland and Germany, respectively.<ref name="nyt">[https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/22/sports/banach-twins-grapple-with-their-problems.html "Banach twins grapple with their problems"], ''New York Times'', June 22, 1984</ref> They have an older brother Steve, born in 1958. Their family broke up when they were young, after their house was destroyed in a fire and their father left. Their mother suffered a nervous breakdown, and the children had to be put in care.<ref name="nyt"/>

The twins and their brother Steve were all adopted by Alan and Stephanie Tooley of [[Montague Township, New Jersey]].<ref name="nyt"/> The family moved to [[Port Jervis, New York]], where the three boys all became involved in football and wrestling in high school. The twins were established as the best wrestlers in Port Jervis history by the time they graduated in 1978. Ed Banach was "so quick, so strong, so tough they called him, 'The Horse.'" <ref name="interdonato"/>

The three brothers all attended college on wrestling scholarships; Steve at [[Clemson University]] and the twins both at the [[University of Iowa]].<ref name="nyt"/> Ed Banach wrestled at Iowa competitively from 1980 to 1983. He was a standout wrestler, with a career record of 141-9-1 and the school record for most pins in a career (73). Banach was a four-time NCAA All-American, and a three-time NCAA national champion in Division I (1980, 1981, and 1983). He was named the 1983 [[Big Ten Athlete of the Year]].<ref name="interdonato">[http://www.recordonline.com/article/20060813/Sports/608130351 Sal Interdonato, "Banach's Olympic gold came with a heavy price"], ''Times Herald Record'' (recordonline.com), August 13, 2006, accessed November 15, 2014</ref>

==Olympic Gold==
In 1984 the Banach twins competed in two different weight classes in wrestling at the [[1984 Summer Olympics]] in Los Angeles, California. Ed Banach defeated Akira Ota of Japan 15–3 in the 198-pound freestyle gold-medal match.<ref name="interdonato"/> Both men won gold medals, as did the American [[Dave Schultz (amateur wrestler)|Schultz]] brothers.  Wrestling at lower weight classes than the Banachs, the Schultzes became the first American brothers to win gold medals in the same Olympics in wrestling. However, the Banach brothers have the distinction of being the first American twin brothers to win the gold medal in the same Olympics in wrestling.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uproxx.com/sports/remembering-the-horrifying-murder-of-wrestler-dave-schultz-20-years-later/|title = Remembering the Horrifying Murder of Wrestler Dave Schultz, 20 Years Later|date = January 26, 2016}}</ref>

Ed Banach defeated Ota while suffering from a concussion, the last of 15 that he had incurred on his way to the Olympics. He has suffered from post-concussion syndrome, long before it was identified as a sports risk to wrestlers, boxers, and football players.<ref name="interdonato"/>

==Career==
Banach stayed involved in sports and served as assistant coach at [[Iowa State University]] until 1987. After suffering for 14 months with a [[migraine]] after getting hit in practice, he decided he had to retire. Although it was the end of his athletic career, Banach runs a spring wrestling clinic in [[Ames, Iowa]], where he continues to live.<ref name="interdonato"/>

==Personal life==
Banach married while he was at Iowa; his wife was a dental hygiene student.<ref name="nyt"/> They have a son who started competing in wrestling in high school. Ed has enjoyed advising him, but cannot "get on the mat" with him to show him any moves.<ref name="interdonato"/>

==Honors==
* In 1997 Banach was inducted into the [[University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame]].
* In 2002, he was inducted into the [[National Wrestling Hall of Fame]];<ref>[http://nwhof.org/blog/dg-inductees/ed-banach/ "Ed Banach", inducted 2002], National Wrestling Hall of Fame, accessed November 15, 2014</ref> his plaque reads, "a thoroughbred in all respects."<ref name="interdonato"/>
* Port Jervis, New York installed a blue-and-gold sign in town honoring Ed and Lou Banach as Olympic champions.<ref name="interdonato"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Olympedia|name=Ed Banach}}
* {{Olympics.com|edward-joseph-banach|Edward Joseph Banach|org_id=edward-banach|org_name=Edward Banach|org_archive=20190811060425}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20141129013815/http://www.olympic.org/en/content/All-Olympic-results-since-1896/?AthleteName=Enter+a+name&Category=343488&Games=1333892&Sport=1314109&Event=361447&MenGender=true&WomenGender=false&MixedGender=false&TeamClassification=true&IndividualClassification=true&Continent=1310308&Country=347777&GoldMedal=true&SilverMedal=false&BronzeMedal=false&WorldRecord=false&OlympicRecord=false&TargetResults=true "Ed Banach"], Olympic Results 
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YMF43EUvPs 1982 NCAA Championships, Ed Banach v. Mark Schultz], YouTube

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Banach, Ed}}
[[Category:1960 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Iowa Hawkeyes wrestlers]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in wrestling]]
[[Category:People from Montague Township, New Jersey]]
[[Category:People from Port Jervis, New York]]
[[Category:University of Iowa alumni]]
[[Category:Wrestlers at the 1984 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:American male sport wrestlers]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Big Ten Athlete of the Year winners]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]