11 Facts About Ed Banach

Ed Banach wrestled for the University of Iowa under coach Dan Gable from 1980 to 1983, where he was a four-time NCAA All-American, and a three-time NCAA national champion.

Ed Banach was named the 1983 Big Ten Athlete of the Year.

Ed and Lou Ed Banach are fraternal twin brothers born in Sussex County, New Jersey, sons of Wraclaw and Genevieve Ed Banach, immigrants from Poland and Germany, respectively.

Ed Banach wrestled at Iowa competitively from 1980 to 1983.

Ed Banach was named the 1983 Big Ten Athlete of the Year.

In 1984 the Ed Banach twins competed in two different weight classes in wrestling at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.

However, the Ed Banach brothers have the distinction of being the first American twin brothers to win the gold medal in the same Olympics in wrestling.

Ed Banach defeated Ota while suffering from a concussion, the last of 15 that he had incurred on his way to the Olympics.

Ed Banach has suffered from post-concussion syndrome, long before it was identified as a sports risk to wrestlers, boxers, and football players.

Ed Banach stayed involved in sports and served as assistant coach at Iowa State University until 1987.

Ed Banach married while he was at Iowa; his wife was a dental hygiene student.