T. C. Dantzler
Thomas Curtis "T. C." Dantzler is an American Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed for the men's 74-kg category at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He is a two-time U.S national champion, five-time U.S. world wrestling team member, and a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is also a two-time bronze medalist at the Pan American Games.
Early life and education
Dantzler, a native of Harvey, Illinois, attended Bremen High School, where he was a runner-up in the state wrestling tournament. He also earned letters in football, baseball, and track and field, while studying at Thornwood. After graduating from high school, Danzler attended Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, where he received a bachelor's degree in economics, and was a four-time qualifying wrestler at the NCAA tournament.Wrestling career
Although he never won a state tournament title in wrestling during his high school years, or national title in wrestling during his collegiate career, Dantzler was a regular member of the U.S. national Greco-Roman wrestling team. In 1995, he moved from Illinois to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to work and train as a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. At the 2006 World Championships in Guangzhou, China, he had his best finish at the World Championships, placing fifth.Having achieved his best finish at the World Championships, Dantzler qualified for the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and competed for the 74-kg category in men's Greco-Roman wrestling. He lost in the first preliminary round to Cuba's Odelis Herrero, who eventually won the gold medal in this category, but managed to bounce back into the repechage bouts to repeat his bronze winning streak from the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo. In 2007, he was a part of the USA Greco-Roman Wrestling Team that finished first at the World Championships.
He knocked off his former opponent Herrero at the 2008 Pan American Wrestling Championships in Colorado Springs, but ended up with a silver medal, after losing out to Peru's Sixto Barrera in the final match. Dantzler received an elusive qualifying berth at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, after winning the U.S. Olympic trials for his respective weight class.