Rick Sanders (wrestler)

Rick Sanders
Sanders (top) at the 1972 Olympics
Personal information
BornJanuary 20, 1945 (1945-01-20)
DiedOctober 18, 1972(1972-10-18) (aged 27)
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportWrestling
Event(s)
Freestyle and Folkstyle
College teamPortland State
ClubMultnomah Athletic Club
TeamUSA
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
1968 Mexico City 52 kg
1972 Munich 57 kg
World Championships
1969 Mar del Plata 52 kg
1967 New Delhi 52 kg
1966 Toledo 52 kg
Pan American Games
1967 Winnipeg 57 kg
Collegiate Wrestling
Representing Portland State
NAIA Championships
1965 Terre Haute 115 lb
NCAA Division I Championships
1966 Ames 115 lb
1967 Kent 115 lb
1968 State College 123 lb
NCAA Division II Championships
1967 Wilkes-Barre 115 lb
1968 Mankato 123 lb
1966 Mankato 123 lb

Richard Joseph "Rick" Sanders (January 20, 1945 – October 18, 1972) was an American folkstyle and freestyle wrestler. He won gold medals at the 1967 Pan American Games and 1969 World Championships, finishing second at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics and 1967 World Championships. After the 1972 Olympics, while traveling to Greece, he was killed in a car accident in Skopje, Yugoslavia. In 1987, Sanders was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.