Cael Sanderson portrait

2004 Athens Olympics and Paralympics

  • NUMBER OF PENN STATERS COMPETING: 8
  • NUMBER OF PENN STATERS IN ALL ROLES: 13
  • NUMBER OF OLYMPIC ALTERNATES: 0

 

In 2004, the Olympics returned to Greece to celebrate more than a century of Olympic history. The games in Athens also marked the 100th anniversary of the first Penn Stater to compete at the Olympics and win a medal. Thirteen Olympians and Paralympians with Nittany Lions ties took on a wide range of roles, competing in and coaching seven different sports and also serving in official capacities with the International Olympic Committee.

Kevin Szott claimed the last of his five Paralympics medals in a long career competing on the international stage, winning bronze in the 95-kilogram weight class in Paralympic judo. Traditional Olympic sports like track and field and wrestling were represented by Penn Staters. So too were more modern additions to the Olympic program like mountain biking and beach volleyball.

 

Profile: Cael Sanderson

Cael Sanderson coaching Penn State wrestler
Cael Sanderson coaching Penn State wrestler (gopsusports.com)

Cael Sanderson’s Olympic glory was in the rearview mirror by the time he came to Penn State, but the mystique around his career on the mat has helped him turn the Nittany Lions into a powerhouse in college wrestling. Coached by his father at Wasatch High School in Heber City, Utah, a former BYU wrestler, Sanderson went 127-3 and won four straight state high school wrestling titles. From his prep days in Utah, Sanderson moved on to compete in college at Iowa State. There he went 159-0 as he claimed four straight NCAA championships from 1999 to 2002.

Sanderson defeated Lee Fullhart, a four-time All-American at Iowa and the winner of the 1997 NCAA title, in a three-match qualifying showdown at the 2004 U.S. Olympic trials to make the team for the 2004 Athens Olympics. Once he reached Greece, Sanderson proved as unstoppable at the Olympics as he was in college.

Competing at the 84-kilogram (light heavyweight) weight class, Sanderson dispatched Kazakhstan’s Magomed Kurugliyev and Belarusian wrestler Siarhei Borchanka in pool competition to advance to the 12-wrestler knockout stages. Sanderson won a tense 6-5 result against Iranian opponent Majid Khodaei and a 3-2 decision against Cuba’s Yoel Romero to reach the final. Falling behind early against South Korea’s Moon Eui-jae, Sanderson came back for a 3-1 victory to secure the gold medal and a perfect record in Olympic competition.

After retiring his singlet and the mat for a suit and the sidelines, Sanderson started his coaching career at his alma mater. Sanderson served in several associate head coaching roles from 2004 until he took over the program in 2007. During his tenure leading the Cyclones, Sanderson’s teams went 44-10 and finished in the top five nationally all three years. Sanderson made the transition to Penn State in 2010, where he has led wrestlers to a 146-14-2 record through the 2021 season and won eight NCAA championships in nine seasons from 2011 to 2019. Between his time at Iowa State and Penn State, Sanderson has coached 78 total All-Americans and 25 total National Champions.

 

SOURCES AND ADDITIONAL READING