A Real Hero

Have you all been watching Heroes? Great show right? Too often in the real world, the word "Hero" gets tossed around. Someone hits a game winning shot? Hero. But how many true heroes are out there. How about a hero that actually seems to have a super human power of some sort? Then again, maybe this guy just has nine lives.

I first became aware of Rulond Gardner in the 2000 Olympics. I love the Olympics and try to watch as much as I can. I didn't see the match live unfortunately, but the news spread all over Olympics. In the gold medal match of Greco-Roman wrestling, Gardner was able to defeat the big Russian, Alexander Karelin. Why was this such a big deal? Karelin had not been defeated in 13 years!!! In fact, nobody had even scored a SINGLE POINT on Karelin in 6 years!!! Talk about domination. Gardner was not given a chance in hell to defeat Karelin, and with a record like that, why would anyone think otherwise? It was truely a remarkable event.

After the Olympics, Rulon got the usual winner's welcome back in the country. It was then that we learned that Gardner had survived an arrow accident as a child. An arrow from his bag had gone into his abdomen while bent down to pick up another loose arrow. But that alone would not be his last brush with death. 2 years later, in 2002, we learned that Gardner became lost in the snow while on a snowmobile trip. He was stranded overnight in the freezing cold, and once he was rescued, he had to have a toe amputated. After being in the cold all night without a coat, he is lucky that is all he lost.

Despite the loss of a toe, Gardner was still able to qualify for the 2004 Olympics. He couldn't repeat his performance, but he did earn the bronze medal. The tears after his final match , his retirement match, became one of the most emotional moments in sports I had ever seen. He did not leave the spotlight though. Soon after the Olympics, Gardner was involved in a motorcycle accident after a car hit the motorcycle he was riding. Despite being thrown from his motorcycle, he lived.

I figured that would be the last brush with death that Gardner would ever have to endure. I'd forgotten all about Gardner when I saw his name in the paper again last week. Unfortunately, he was involved in aother life threatening incident. Gardner was riding in a small plane with 2 friends when the plane they were riding in crashed into an icy lake. They all survived the crash, but had to swim over an hour in 44 degree water. Over an hour in almost freezing water. But did they get rescued right away? Of course not. Probably because of his experience with being stranded in the past, Gardner had his friends help him with building a shelter after first helping them calm down. Luckily, after surviving sub freezing temperatures in the night, they were spotted by a fisherman in the morning and were saved.

I listened to an interview with Gardner on the radio the other day and it was truely inspiring. I fully believe he helped these men live. Is this guy just lucky? Is fate keeping him alive? I am not sure of these answers, but I do believe that by calling this man a hero, I would not be too far off.