Dremiel Byers

American wrestler (born 1974) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dremiel Byers

Dremiel Deshon Byers (born September 11, 1974) is an American former Greco-Roman wrestler. Byers joined the U.S. Army World Class Athletes Program (WCAP) in 1997 and was the 2002 World Champion in Greco-Roman wrestling at 120 kg. In total, Byers won three World medals and was a two-time Olympian. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 2021.[1]

Quick Facts Personal information, Full name ...
Dremiel Byers
Sgt. 1st Class Byers celebrates winning a tournament
Personal information
Full nameDremiel Deshon Byers
Born (1974-09-11) September 11, 1974 (age 50)
Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Home townKings Mountain, North Carolina, U.S.
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight120 kg (265 lb)
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportWrestling
EventGreco-Roman
ClubU.S. Army WCAP
TeamUSA
Coached byShon Lewis
Steve Fraser
Medal record
Men's Greco-Roman wrestling
Representing the  United States
World Championships
2002 Moscow120 kg
2009 Herning120 kg
2007 Baku120 kg
World Military Championships
2005 Vilnius120 kg
Pan American Games
1999 Winnipeg130 kg
2007 Rio de Janeiro120 kg
Pan American Championships
2003 Guatemala City120 kg
2002 Maracaibo120 kg
2006 Rio de Janeiro120 kg
Close

Early life and education

Byers was raised by a single mother in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. He carries a childhood nickname, "Bam" or "Big Bam" to the current day. Byers earned this nickname from when he was a toddler, carrying a 1-pound dumbbell as a toy. He attended Kings Mountain High School, where as a wrestler, he won a North Carolina state championship as a heavyweight in 1993.[2]

Byers attended North Carolina A&T for one year on a football scholarship. He was later forced to leave college to take care of family matters. After leaving college, he signed a 2-year enlistment in the US Army.

Wrestling career

Summarize
Perspective
Thumb
Dremiel Byers (top) lifts an opponent at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

After joining the US Army, when asked if anyone in his group wrestled before, Byers mentioned how he had been a North Carolina state champion. From there, he was introduced to the Greco-Roman style of wrestling and the start of a prolific Greco-Roman wrestling career.[3] Byers joined the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program (WCAP) in 1997. He competed out of Colorado Springs, Colorado for the US Army, in the 120 kg (264.5 lbs) weight class. During his career he had many accomplishments and awards as a wrestler. He was recognized as the USA Wrestling Greco-Roman Wrestler of the Year in 1999, 2002 and 2009.

Byers would earn a gold medal in Greco-Roman at the 2002 World Wrestling Championships. He also helped the United States win its first Greco-Roman World team title at the 2007 World Wrestling Championships, with his victory in the bronze medal match clinching the team title. He later also won a silver medal at the 2009 World Wrestling Championships. Byers finished his career tied with Matt Ghaffari for the most Greco-Roman World Championship medals by a United States wrestler, by achieving three medals at the World Championships.[4]

He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum’s Alan and Gloria Rice Greco-Roman Hall of Champions in 2015. In 2021, Byers was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.

Personal life

Byers is an avid motorcyclist. Byers is a Sergeant First Class in the US Army.[5]

References

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.