#152 – Dan Gable: Olympic Wrestling, Mental Toughness & the Making of Champions

Lex Fridman Podcast

Dan Gable is one of the greatest Olympic athletes and wrestling coaches of all time. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
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EPISODE LINKS:
Dan’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/dannygable
Dan’s Website: https://dangable.com/
Dan’s Books: https://amzn.to/2VK5nbn

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OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(09:31) – Russian wrestling
(11:09) – Coaching the science, art, and toughness of wrestling
(18:05) – The pain of defeat and the tattoo of a hawk clawing out the heart
(21:04) – Roger Bannister and the 4 minute mile
(24:09) – The dream of becoming an Olympic champion
(26:38) – The day in 1972 of the Olympic final
(30:10) – Sauna story
(31:39) – Match against the Russian
(37:13) – The role of fear in wrestling
(42:14) – The line between physical wrestling and anger
(46:53) – Tragic loss of Dan’s sister
(54:21) – The role of family in wrestling
(59:43) – Wrestling being voted out of the Olympics
(1:04:26) – To beat the best you must study the best
(1:09:39) – The role of luck (Old Man and the Sea)