Gardner plans to return to wrestling

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) -- Olympic champion Rulon Gardner plans to return to wrestling after losing a toe to frostbite while stranded in Wyoming's backcountry.

Gardner said Friday he was "relaxed and comfortable" one day after the amputation of the middle toe on his right foot. Doctors were optimistic he will not lose any more toes.

"I'm disappointed about losing that toe, but I realize how blessed I've been," he said in a statement released by Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls. "With a positive mind and a positive focus, I feel good about recovering to my full potential."

The 30-year-old wrestler said he was not in pain and was to receive treatment in Pocatello on Friday and Idaho Falls on Saturday.

"Right now I'm putting the same focus into my recovery as I usually use in my wrestling training," he said.

He thanked his friends and family for their support.

On Feb. 14, Gardner's snowmobile bogged down near his hometown of Afton, Wyo. He spent 17 hours in temperatures that dipped to 25 below zero and was found with a body temperature of 88 and his feet frozen.

Gardner was released from the hospital Feb. 28 but has been back several times for treatments, including time in a hyperbaric chamber to speed healing by breathing pure oxygen.

Gardner is the Greco-Roman world heavyweight champion. In the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Russia's Alexander Karelin, who had not lost an international match in 13 years.

 

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