30.10.2007, 09:38
Sacramento Bee
Sacramento, California
4 April 1978
wrestler is down - match with health
olympic medalist chris taylor has wrestled most of his life. now, he's wrestling with his health.
the 6 foot 6, 470 pound taylor faces a year of tests and therapy in and out of the hospital to control his weight. chronic hepatitis and liver ailments have forced him to end -- at least temporarily --- his professional wrestling career and join the ranks of the unemployed.
taylor is 60 pounds heavier than he would like to be. he has gained 40 pounds in two months.
if he doesn't start losing it, doctors say his life may be on the line.
"i bloat up easy with liquids, " taylor said. "for some reason the liquids are not filtering out of me. the doctors know at i want to do. it's going to take from 10 to 12 months. it's going to be a year before i do anything else strenuous.."
taylor, the bronze medal winner in heavyweight wrestling at the 1972 munich olympics, said that although he doesn't have an enormous appetite, he has always had a problem controllong his weight. "i can walk by a mc donald's and gain three pounds."
he's a big man -- 60 inch chest, 20 inch biceps, and a 56 inch waist. he buys most of his triple extra large clothes through catalogs.
taylor was weel-known for his size before he won the medal in graco-roman wrestling in 1972. he had won two straight national collegiate athletic association titles while attending iowa state and seven consecutive amateur athletic union crowns. he was a big 8 conference athlete of the year in 1973.
the iowa state graduate tried pro wrestling with the like of gorilla monsoon and bruno sammartino. his contract called for him to receive about $400,000 over a five year period. "it was null and void if you didn't do the required work," he said. "the only thing i didn't like was the road," he said.
"a lot of times i'd wake up in the morning, thinking i had to catch a plane. then it hit me. i was already where i was supposed to be."
Sacramento, California
4 April 1978
wrestler is down - match with health
olympic medalist chris taylor has wrestled most of his life. now, he's wrestling with his health.
the 6 foot 6, 470 pound taylor faces a year of tests and therapy in and out of the hospital to control his weight. chronic hepatitis and liver ailments have forced him to end -- at least temporarily --- his professional wrestling career and join the ranks of the unemployed.
taylor is 60 pounds heavier than he would like to be. he has gained 40 pounds in two months.
if he doesn't start losing it, doctors say his life may be on the line.
"i bloat up easy with liquids, " taylor said. "for some reason the liquids are not filtering out of me. the doctors know at i want to do. it's going to take from 10 to 12 months. it's going to be a year before i do anything else strenuous.."
taylor, the bronze medal winner in heavyweight wrestling at the 1972 munich olympics, said that although he doesn't have an enormous appetite, he has always had a problem controllong his weight. "i can walk by a mc donald's and gain three pounds."
he's a big man -- 60 inch chest, 20 inch biceps, and a 56 inch waist. he buys most of his triple extra large clothes through catalogs.
taylor was weel-known for his size before he won the medal in graco-roman wrestling in 1972. he had won two straight national collegiate athletic association titles while attending iowa state and seven consecutive amateur athletic union crowns. he was a big 8 conference athlete of the year in 1973.
the iowa state graduate tried pro wrestling with the like of gorilla monsoon and bruno sammartino. his contract called for him to receive about $400,000 over a five year period. "it was null and void if you didn't do the required work," he said. "the only thing i didn't like was the road," he said.
"a lot of times i'd wake up in the morning, thinking i had to catch a plane. then it hit me. i was already where i was supposed to be."