In 1982, when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease, many in the wrestling community gave up on him. After a rigorous series of radiation treatments, Blatnick made the decision to not only train in wrestling again, but to also train for the upcoming 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
"There are just so many things you are battling at that time, mentally and physically, that a pure focus on training becomes that much harder. But at the same time, that training gave me a release -- a way to not think about what I was battling through."
Blatnick went on to win an Olympic gold medal in 1984, defying all odds. Before 1984, no Greco-Roman wrestler had won an Olympic gold medal. Blatnick was Rulon Gardner, before there the rest of the world had ever heard of Rulon Gardner.
Today, Blatnick has to deal with an entirely different set of doubters -- those who don't want him to be an analyst for the NCAA Tournament or the Olympic Games.
"You have to look at what you do and try to do it better. Some of the criticisms are true. I mispronounced Ryan Bertin's name on the air when he won a national championship," Blatnick says of his mistakes. "Am I the best broadcaster in the world? I can't say that I am. But I'm going to do my best. I think I'm good at analyzing technique and strategy. But these were the same things I heard about me in my wrestling career."
Blatnick also points to less time to meet with wrestlers before competition is aired, as well as a major expansion in ESPN coverage since 2002 as reasons broadcasting the NCAA Tournament has become a tougher task.
But broadcasting only takes up a small percentage of Blatnick's life. Since winning his Olympic gold, he has taken up a strong career as a motivational speaker, though he will admit, Rulon hasn't exactly helped business in the past few years.
"Rulon deserves everything that he can possibly get," Blatnick said. "The last couple of times I was with Rulon, the relationship was that of training dummy. He's still a physical animal, and I'm a little bit older than he is. I have all the respect in the world for what he's done. I've covered him for years. He's the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler we have. He promotes the sport well. I'm proud of what he's done for wrestling -- both on and off the mat."
Blatnick has also started to get more involved with coaching in the last two years.
After some gut-check training sessions with Rulon, Blatnick learned that his expertise of the technical aspects of wrestling could be used to help youth wrestlers.
Two years ago, Blatnick became a volunteer assistant coach at Burnt Hills High School in New York. Ironically, it is the program that rivaled his high school alma mater, Niskayuna High School, when he was a youth.
Jeff BlatnickYet, with all of this involvement, Blatnick must still find time for his wife, Lori, and his two children, 10 year-old Ian and six year-old Niki.
"I used to be able to bring my wife on road trips with me. Once the kids were born, it became tougher. Both of my children are involved with sports, and my wife has become a huge fan of wrestling. I think she screams louder than I do at time," Blatnick stated.
But Blatnick can still be heard cheering for wrestlers of all ages. In the past couple of years, he has spent a considerable amount of time working out with Payam Zarrinpour, the Sacred Heart heavyweight who competed at the NCAA Tournament.
Zarrinpour, like Blatnick, was not favored to win an NCAA title. Some didn't even think he would earn All-American status. And they were right.
But Blatnick's voice could be heard loud and clear when Zarrinpour was on the mat. The excitement in Blatnick's voice had nothing to do with picking favorites. Instead, it had to do with learning never to doubt someone else as many have doubted him.
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