Kurt Angle Reflects On Competing In Olympics Trials With Broken Neck

Kurt Angle famously won the gold medal at the Olympics with a “broken freakin’ neck,” and he recently looked back on the experience. Angle broke his neck during the 1996 Olympic trials but went on to won the trials and then eventually win the gold medal in the Summer Olympics that year. He spoke at Steel City Comic Con and explained how he broke his neck during the semi-finals at the trials and was convinced by his brothers to keep going. You can see the highlights below, per Wrestling Inc:

On his broken neck during the Olympics: “My neck was in so much pain, and my arms went completely numb, and I barely won the semifinals and I went on to the finals later on that day… And they’re like ‘No, you’ll wrestle because you won’t have to go in that mini tournament, so if there’s something wrong with your neck, you might as well just try to wrestle tonight.'”

On being able to continue after being prescribed Novocain and rest: “It worked! I won the Olympic trials and won the Olympic Gold Medal with a broken freakin’ neck.”