That's why they are tough to surpass.

Smith never won a bronze. He won gold at the WC in '87. Olympic gold in '88. Gold at the WC in '89, '90, '91. Gold at the Olympics in '92. And, like Burroughs, two Pan American golds. And he retired at 26 or 27. Interesting bit of trivia, the guy who beat Smith for the 1985 NCAA championship is now a US Congressman, Jim Jordan.

Gable retired from international competition before he was 25, but his career was sort of like Alexander the Great, he wasn't defeated, he just quit because, after winning Olympic gold without surrendering a point, there was no more to conquer, and of course he moved on to a fairly successful coaching career. No matter how much hardware guys like Burroughs and Smith collect, many people, not necessarily incorrectly, will believe that it was just a function of hanging around longer, not their being better than Gable.

Sorry to hear he won the bronze. Didn't see the match, but really enjoy watching him wrestle. Certainly will go down as a top 5 guy (exc heavies) in US wrestling, even if he retires tomorrow.