Palentine Resident & Olympian Lee Kemp Honored at 35th Anniv of '80 Olympics
Basch Solutions, International Fraternity of Wrestlers and National Registry 4 Wrestling commemorates the 35th anniversary of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team
CHICAGO (October 11, 2015) On Friday, September 11th, Chardon, Palatine resident Lee Kemp, a member of the 1980 Freestyle Olympic Wrestling Team and America's first three-time World Champion was honored at a dinner and awards ceremony commemorating the 35th anniversary of the XXII Olympic Games in Moscow.
The invitation-only event was held at the Gold Coast Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas between sessions of the 2015 World Wrestling Championships. With more than 200 guests in attendance, the 20 members of the 1980 team, 15 who were present, became lifetime members of the International Fraternity of Wrestlers. Not only were they recognized for their missed opportunity, but were also lauded for their professional and personal accomplishments on and off the mat.
Many believed the 1980 US team to be the best Olympic Wrestling Team ever assembled and favored to medal in several matches. No one doubted that Kemp would bring home a gold medal. The athletes missed their opportunity to compete due to the United States-led boycott of the games in which more than 60 nations did not participate in retaliation of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan earlier that year.
Kemp started wrestling in the ninth grade at Chardon High School in his hometown, Chardon, Ohio. He attended the University of Wisconsin and at 21 he became the youngest American World Champion and the fifth American to be inducted into the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2008. In 1990, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Kemp, the spokesman for the International Fraternity of Wrestlers, was the subject of a documentary, "Ghost and Goblins: The Story of Lee Kemp's Life," scheduled for release July 2016.
The Chardon Area Chamber of Commerce was as supporting sponsor of its hometown hero, Kemp. The event was hosted and produced by the International Fraternity of Wrestlers and the National Registry 4 Wrestling.
About
The International Fraternity of Wrestlers is a membership-based organization created by and for competitive wrestlers. IFW is dedicated to connecting all those who have wrestled, coached and/or officiated at any level during their lifetime to this elite brotherhood of wrestling. The collective strength of our members and business leaders creates greater purchasing power and larger share of voice when promoting and advocating on behalf of the great sport of competitive wrestling. www.ifwrestlers.org/
The National Registry 4 Wrestling is a membership organization whose mission is to increase wrestling's fans, build a registry of wrestling fans across the nation and re-engage the six to eight million Americans who wrestled at the high school, college or club level. NR4W seeks to leverage the group's mass demographics and purchasing power to benefit the sport of wrestling and ensure amateur wrestling continues its 3,000-year history as an Olympic core sport. www.nr4w.com
Media Contact: Priscilla Hunter, priscilla@iwrestled.com or 312.286.6624[m]