Kevin Jackson

Sport: Wrestling

Induction Year: 2024

University: LSU

An LSU star from 1983-85, Jackson, wrestling in the 82kg (181-pound) freestyle class, became only the second Black wrestler to win an Olympic gold medal when he beat Elmadi Zhabrailov of the Unified Team in the 1992 Barcelona Games. Jackson also won swept the gold medals in the 82kg division at the 1991 and ’95 World Championships and Pan Am Games — giving him five major wins in a five-year period. He’s one of only six U.S. men’s freestyle wrestlers to claim at least three career World-level (Olympics/World Championships) titles.

A three-time All-American in 1983, 1984 and 1985 for LSU before the school dropped the sport, Jackson moved on to national powerhouse Iowa State to finish his career where, after being voted team captain, he won his fourth All-America honor with a runner-up finish in the 167-pound class — helping the Cyclones win the 1987 NCAA title. He was also a two-time state champion in high school in Lansing, Michigan, where he also was the Junior National Greco-Roman champion.

Jackson had a brief career as a mixed martial arts fighter in the late 1990s, finishing with a 4-2 record, before turning to coaching. He joined the USA Wrestling coaching staff in 2001 and was freestyle coach for the U.S. at the 2004 and 2008 Games when Cael Sanderson (2004) and Henry Cejudo (2008) won gold medals. Jackson also was the primary coach for Brandon Slay, who won Olympic gold in 2000. Jackson went on to serve as head coach at Iowa State from 2010-17, leading his team to a third-place finish in his first season when he coached two individual national champions. He stepped down in 2017 after coaching four NCAA champions, 14 All-Americans and nine Big 12 champions.

Since 2017, he has been USA Wrestling’s national freestyle development coach. His honors include the 1995 John Smith Award as National Freestyle Wrestler of the Year, 1992 Amateur Wrestling News Man of the Year and 1991 USA Wrestling and USOC Wrestler of the Year. He’s a member of the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame, the United States National Wrestling Hall of Fame (as a distinguished member) and Iowa State University Athletics Hall of Fame. Inducted into the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame in September 2019. … Born 11-25-1964 in Highland Falls, N.Y., but grew up in Lansing, Mich.