If there's anyone who knows about hard work, dedication, and overcoming insurmountable obstacles, it's Kurt Angle . A six-time world champion with WWE and six-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion, Angle's public career began with him winning an Olympic gold medal in 1996 with "a broken freakin' neck." However, as any Olympic-level athlete can tell you, the work begins far before that.
More WWE: Former WWE Champion Returns To Ring After Injury "For me, it was really stressful because I had the broken neck and I knew that I was under a lot of distress," Angle said in an exclusive interview with Newsweek Sports . "I knew the chances for me to win an Olympic gold medal were dwindling because when I injured my neck, I was told by a doctor that I couldn't compete, that I was done wrestling." Fortunately, Angle got a second opinion that allowed him to head to the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where he narrowly beat Abbas Jadidi for the gold by judges' decision.
As well as the physical and mental struggles that came with the serious injury, Angle also delved into the financial difficulties of being an Olympic athlete. "When I was training for the Olympics, I put on spaghetti dinner fundraisers. I sold autographed photos, I sold autographed t-shirts, and I had sponsors step up for me.
I made ends meet," Angle explained. "It's not that I made a lot of money, but I made enough that I could focus on my training and competition and not have to work for a living." More WWE: Rhea Ripley.