Does Olympian Wrestler Rulon Gardner Have 9 Lives?

Rulon Gardner is one of my most favorite athletes in the sports world. In 2000, the heavyweight won an improbable gold medal in Sydney by beating Russian Alexander Karelin, who at the time had not lost a match in 13 years and had not surrendered a point in six years. At the next Olympiad in Athens, Gardner claimed a bronze and then left his shoes at the center of the mat and walked away from the sport retiring.

In his 35 years, Gardner has already had a toe removed because of frostbite (he got lost in the woods on a snowmobile), stabbed himself in the gut with an arrow (third grade show-and-tell project ... seriously) and survived a horrible motorcycle wreck. Now, he's cock-roached himself once again by living through a plane crash and swimming for an hour in frigid waters.

Yep, Gardner and two friends were flying a small plane in Utah when they lost control and hit the water at 150 miles per hour. They swam to shore and then spent the night without shelter or fire. The next day, a fishing boat rescued them.

And so the legend grows ...