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Thomas Curtis "T. C." Dantzler Jr. (born October 26, 1970) is an American Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed for the men's 74-kg category at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[1] He is a two-time U.S national champion, five-time U.S. world wrestling team member, and a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is also a two-time bronze medalist at the Pan American Games.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Thomas Curtis Dantzler | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | October 26, 1970 Harvey, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 74 kg (163 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event | Greco-Roman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Northern Illinois | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Gator Wrestling Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | USA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Steve Fraser | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Dantzler, a native of Harvey, Illinois, attended Bremen High School, where he was a runner-up in the state wrestling tournament. He also earned letters in football, baseball, and track and field, while studying at Thornwood. After graduating from high school, Danzler attended Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, where he received a bachelor's degree in economics, and was a four-time qualifying wrestler at the NCAA tournament (1990–1993). Thomas is also a distinguished member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity Incorporated since fall 1989.
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In recognition of his wrestling achievements, Dantzler was inducted into the Northern Illinois University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004. This honor reflects his contributions and success during his collegiate and Post collegiate wrestling career.
Although he never won a state tournament title in wrestling during his high school years or national title in wrestling during his collegiate career, Dantzler had been a regular member of the U.S. national wrestling team. TC is a 5x US national Champion and a 4x USA world team member. In 1995, he moved from Illinois to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to work and train as a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. He first competed for the men's 74-kg category at the U.S. national championships in 1996, and finally received his first title ten years later. At the span of his wrestling career, he placed third six times, and runner-up three times, and also, defended titles in the same tournament in 2007 and in 2008. In addition to his numerous achievements in the national championships, Dantzler finished third at the 2000 U.S. Olympic trials, and was denied a chance to qualify for his weight class at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He also competed at the 2006 World Wrestling Championships in Guangzhou, China, where he placed fifth in the same category.
Having achieved his best finish at the World Championships, Dantzler qualified for the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and competed for the 74-kg category in men's Greco-Roman wrestling. He lost in the first preliminary round to Cuba's Odelis Herrero, who eventually won the gold medal in this category, but managed to bounce back into the repechage bouts to repeat his bronze winning streak from the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo.[2] Dantzler later recaptured his success in Greco-Roman wrestling, when he knocked off his former opponent Herrero at the 2008 Pan American Wrestling Championships in Colorado Springs, but ended up with a silver medal, after losing out to Peru's Sixto Barrera in the final match.[3] Dantzler received an elusive qualifying berth at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, after winning the U.S. Olympic trials for his respective weight class.
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At age thirty-seven, Dantzler became the second-oldest U.S. wrestler to compete at the Olympics, with a difference of one month from Christopher Campbell, who previously won the bronze medal in men's freestyle wrestling at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.[4] He made his debut at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and qualified for the men's 74-kg class in Greco-Roman wrestling. Despite his age and first-time participation, Dantzler lost in the first preliminary round of the competition, after being defeated by Hungary's Péter Bácsi, with a three-set score (1–5, 2–2, 0–3), and a classification point score of 1–3. After losing his match in the first round, Dantzler later admitted that he was slowly reacting, because he had to speed up reducing weight due to faulty scale.[5]
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After an illustrious wrestling career, Thomas TC Dantzler Jr. transitioned into the tech industry, becoming a respected leader in software development and technology innovation. As the COO and CTO of CreateIT LLC, operating under the brand 2020 Background Screening, Dantzler oversees the development of cutting-edge software platforms specializing in background screening technology.
CreateIT LLC has emerged as a leader in the field, offering innovative SaaS solutions and mobile applications that streamline complex processes, such as integrating background screening tools into Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). The company is recognized for its advanced software platforms and ability to deliver complex integrations that meet industry needs.
In addition to his tech leadership, Dantzler has continued to influence the sports world by coaching and mentoring future generations of Olympians. He coached G'Angelo Hancock, who competed in the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games, and Kamal Bey, who will represent the U.S. in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. His ongoing involvement in athletics demonstrates his commitment to both wrestling and excellence across multiple fields.
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