# Ed Banach

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American wrestler (born 1960)

Ed Banach Ed Banach in 1984 Personal information Born February 6, 1960 (1960-02-06) (age 66) Sussex County, New Jersey, U.S. Home town Port Jervis, New York, U.S. Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) Weight 198 lb (90 kg) Sport Country United States Sport Wrestling Events Freestyle Folkstyle Club Hawkeye Wrestling Club Team USA Coached by Dan Gable

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](/source/1984_Summer_Olympics).[1] He wrestled for the [University of Iowa](/source/University_of_Iowa) under coach [Dan Gable](/source/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](/source/Big_Ten_Athlete_of_the_Year).

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

## Early life and education

Ed and Lou Banach are [fraternal twin](/source/Fraternal_twin) brothers born in [Sussex County, New Jersey](/source/Sussex_County%2C_New_Jersey), sons of Wraclaw and Genevieve Banach, immigrants from Poland and Germany, respectively.[2] 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.[2]

The twins and their brother Steve were all adopted by Alan and Stephanie Tooley of [Montague Township, New Jersey](/source/Montague_Township%2C_New_Jersey).[2] The family moved to [Port Jervis, New York](/source/Port_Jervis%2C_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.'" [3]

The three brothers all attended college on wrestling scholarships; Steve at [Clemson University](/source/Clemson_University) and the twins both at the [University of Iowa](/source/University_of_Iowa).[2] 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](/source/Big_Ten_Athlete_of_the_Year).[3]

## Olympic Gold

In 1984 the Banach twins competed in two different weight classes in wrestling at the [1984 Summer Olympics](/source/1984_Summer_Olympics) in Los Angeles, California. Ed Banach defeated Akira Ota of Japan 15–3 in the 198-pound freestyle gold-medal match.[3] Both men won gold medals, as did the American [Schultz](/source/Dave_Schultz_(amateur_wrestler)) 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.[4]

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.[3]

## Career

Banach stayed involved in sports and served as assistant coach at [Iowa State University](/source/Iowa_State_University) until 1987. After suffering for 14 months with a [migraine](/source/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](/source/Ames%2C_Iowa), where he continues to live.[3]

## Personal life

Banach married while he was at Iowa; his wife was a dental hygiene student.[2] 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.[3]

## Honors

- In 1997 Banach was inducted into the [University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame](/source/University_of_Iowa_Athletics_Hall_of_Fame).

- In 2002, he was inducted into the [National Wrestling Hall of Fame](/source/National_Wrestling_Hall_of_Fame);[5] his plaque reads, "a thoroughbred in all respects."[3]

- Port Jervis, New York installed a blue-and-gold sign in town honoring Ed and Lou Banach as Olympic champions.[3]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; [Mallon, Bill](/source/Bill_Mallon); et al. ["Ed Banach"](https://web.archive.org/web/20161202213829/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ba/ed-banach-1.html). *Olympics at Sports-Reference.com*. [Sports Reference LLC](/source/Sports_Reference). Archived from [the original](https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ba/ed-banach-1.html) on December 2, 2016.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-nyt_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-nyt_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-nyt_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-nyt_2-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-nyt_2-4) ["Banach twins grapple with their problems"](https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/22/sports/banach-twins-grapple-with-their-problems.html), *New York Times*, June 22, 1984

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-interdonato_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-interdonato_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-interdonato_3-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-interdonato_3-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-interdonato_3-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-interdonato_3-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-interdonato_3-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-interdonato_3-7) [Sal Interdonato, "Banach's Olympic gold came with a heavy price"](http://www.recordonline.com/article/20060813/Sports/608130351), *Times Herald Record* (recordonline.com), August 13, 2006, accessed November 15, 2014

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Remembering the Horrifying Murder of Wrestler Dave Schultz, 20 Years Later"](http://uproxx.com/sports/remembering-the-horrifying-murder-of-wrestler-dave-schultz-20-years-later/). January 26, 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Ed Banach", inducted 2002](http://nwhof.org/blog/dg-inductees/ed-banach/), National Wrestling Hall of Fame, accessed November 15, 2014

## External links

- [Ed Banach](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/60567) at [Olympedia](/source/Olympedia)

- [Edward Joseph Banach](https://olympics.com/en/athletes/edward-joseph-banach) at [Olympics.com](/source/International_Olympic_Committee)
- [Edward Banach](https://web.archive.org/web/20190811060425/https://www.olympic.org/edward-banach) at Olympic.org (archived)

- ["Ed Banach"](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), Olympic Results

- [1982 NCAA Championships, Ed Banach v. Mark Schultz](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YMF43EUvPs), YouTube

v t e Olympic Champions in freestyle light heavyweight 1920: Anders Larsson (SWE) 1924: Jack Spellman (USA) 1928: Thure Sjöstedt (SWE) 1932: Peter Mehringer (USA) 1936: Knut Fridell (SWE) 1948: Henry Wittenberg (USA) 1952: Viking Palm (SWE) 1956: Gholamreza Takhti (IRN) 1960: İsmet Atlı (TUR) 1964: Aleksandr Medved (URS) 1968: Ahmet Ayık (TUR) 1972: Ben Peterson (USA) 1976: Levan Tediashvili (URS) 1980: Sanasar Oganisyan (URS) 1984: Ed Banach (USA) 1988: Makharbek Khadartsev (URS) 1992: Makharbek Khadartsev (EUN) 1996: Rasoul Khadem (IRI) 1920: 80 kg 1924–1960: 87 kg 1964–1968: 97 kg 1972–1996: 90 kg

v t e Big Ten Athlete of the Year 1980s 1982: Jim Spivey 1983: Ed Banach & Judi Brown 1984: Sunder Nix & Lisa Ishikawa 1985: Barry Davis & Cathy Branta 1986: Chuck Long & Stephanie Herbst 1987: Steve Alford & Jennifer Averill 1988: Jim Abbott & Suzy Favor 1989: Glen Rice & Suzy Favor 1990s 1990: Anthony Thompson & Suzy Favor 1991: Mike Barrowman & Julie Farrell-Ovenhouse / Joy Holmes 1992: Desmond Howard & MaChelle Joseph 1993: John Roethlisberger & Lara Hooiveld 1994: Glenn Robinson & Kristy Gleason 1995: Tom Dolan & Laura Davis 1996: Eddie George & Olga Kalinovskaya 1997: Blaine Wilson & Gretchen Hegener / Kathy Butler 1998: Charles Woodson & Sara Griffin 1999: Luke Donald & Stephanie White-McCarty 2000s 2000: Ron Dayne & Lauren Cacciamani 2001: Ryan Miller & Katie Douglas 2002: Jordan Leopold & Christie Welsh 2003: Amer Delić / Matt Lackey & Perdita Felicien 2004: Damion Hahn & Kelly Mazzante 2005: Luis Vargas & Jennie Ritter 2006: Peter Vanderkaay & Tiffany Weimer 2007: Cole Konrad & Jessica Davenport 2008: Brent Metcalf & Hannah Nielsen 2009: Jake Herbert & María Hernández 2010s 2010: Evan Turner & Megan Hodge 2011: David Boudia & Shannon Smith 2012: Draymond Green & Christina Manning 2013: Derek Drouin & Amanda Kessel 2014: David Taylor & Daniella Hill 2015: Logan Stieber & Taylor Cummings 2016: Denzel Valentine & Rachel Banham 2017: Kyle Snyder & Lilly King 2018: Kyle Snyder & Lilly King 2019: Bo Nickal & Megan Gustafson 2020s 2020: Chase Young & Dana Rettke 2021: Luka Garza & Sarah Bacon 2022: Gable Steveson & Dana Rettke 2023: Zach Edey & Caitlin Clark 2024: Zach Edey & Caitlin Clark 2025: Carter Starocci & JuJu Watkins

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ed Banach](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Banach) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Banach?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.