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The Golden One: From Davis County Kid to Olympic Champion
Featured in Feature Davis County Clipper July 2009
SALT LAKE CITY — You never know what someone’s life will become.
What began in South Davis County for Cael Sanderson as a kid in diapers culminated on a wrestling mat in Athens in 2004 as the Utah resident captured the gold medal in freestyle wrestling, completing one of the most storied athletic careers in Beehive State history.
“Winning the Olympics was definitely an exciting day for me and for my family,” Sanderson said.
As a member of the Wasatch High team, Sanderson never lost and won four state titles. At Iowa State University Sanderson continued his winning ways, going undefeated for four years and winning as many NCAA national championships. His competitive career reached its pinnacle when he won the gold.
“I’ve never sat there and thought I was the best in the nation or world,” Sanderson said. “I was always just thinking about how to improve or how to prepare for the next match.”
Sanderson recently accepted his latest challenge of being the head coach at Penn State University. Sanderson had a successful stint as head man for ISU, but is excited about this new chapter in his life.
“I am completely focused on winning a team national championship,” Sanderson said. “It’s something I never did as an athlete and I never got there at Iowa State. It’s something I am driven to do. That and helping the guys I coach reach their potential is most important to me at this point of my life.”
The 30-year-old is a married father, and some people in the rabid wrestling state of Iowa have not taken to Sanderson’s decision to move to Penn State. One woman even knocked on the front door of the Sanderson home and dumped her Iowa State clothes saying, “I won’t need these anymore!”
“People have been good to my family,” Sanderson said. “You get some who are unhappy, but it’s a decision for my family and me.”
Sanderson’s move was one of the few wrestling stories to be picked up by local media outlets across the country, partly due to the move itself and a bigger part because it had its focus point as the greatest wrester in NCAA history.
“That has been weird, but good for the sport,” Sanderson said. “It’s exciting to see the excitement in the northeast and that there’s still interest in Utah.”
As for his son being vilified by some, Cael’s father Steve said “People have been saying things about Cael and our family for years so in some ways I get used to it. The thing that hurts is that Cael has a great heart and is a good person but this all comes with the territory.
“Cael loves to spend time with young people, teaching them how to be better wrestlers and reach their potential.”