Ben Peterson (wrestler)

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Wikidata image Benjamin Lee Peterson (born June 27, 1950) is a retired American freestyle wrestler. He competed at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics and won a gold and a silver medal, respectively. As a college wrestler, Peterson was a two-time NCAA champion at Iowa State. He founded the "Camp of Champs," which brought in Olympic wrestlers to train with high schoolers. Peterson also coached wrestling at Maranatha Baptist University for 28 years.

Early life

Peterson was born in Barron County, Wisconsin but grew up on a dairy farm in nearby Comstock. While attending Cumberland High School, Peterson competed in both football and wrestling. As a senior, he finished runner-up at the state wrestling tournament.

College career

Peterson continued his wrestling career at Iowa State University where he competed in the 190 pound weight class and studied architecture. Peterson went on to capture three Big Eight championships and back-to-back NCAA titles in 1971 and 1972.

Peterson would later be one of the first inductees into the Iowa State Hall of Fame in 1998.

Senior level career and coaching

After his prep career came to an end, Peterson continued competing at the international level with great success. At the 1972 Munich Olympics Peterson won gold in the 90 kg division. He followed that up with bronze at the 1973 World Championships in Tehran and gold at the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico City. At the 1976 Montreal Olympics, Peterson would once again return to the podium, with silver in the 90 kg weight class.

Peterson's older brother, John Peterson, also competed in both the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics as a freestyle wrestler, winning a silver medal in 1972 and gold medal in 1976. At the conclusion of the Montreal Olympic games, Peterson would retire from competitive wrestling to focus on coaching.

In 1972, Peterson began his coaching career as head coach at Maranatha Baptist University in Watertown, Wisconsin, a position he would hold for the next 28 years. In 1977, Ben along with his brother John, would start the Camp of Champs Wrestling Camps. The camp is a faith-based wrestling skills camp.

Peterson was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 2002.

Peterson Roll

Ben is often credited with having invented a version of the Granby Roll wrestling move, popularly called the Peterson Roll, but denies having invented the move. He says that he used the move during the widely viewed Olympic Games, which is one reason the move became connected to him.