Strong Instincts

He remembers a car suddenly pulling out in front of his motorcycle to make a left turn, and immediately realizing he was boxed in on the right by cars jutting into the narrow street near the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

Rulon Gardner knew he was about to hit the Mazda that had come out of nowhere. The only question was how bad the collision would be.

“I was thinking, ‘Should I jump or take the hit?’ ” he said. “I didn’t want to swerve to the other side because there was a car coming the other way.

“I started doing a front roll. I remember seeing the ground coming, and I thought to tuck.”

Gardner won a gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling, not gymnastics, but his athletic instincts spared him grievous injury March 30.

As his Harley Davidson struck the car, he did a flip over the handle bars and over the Mazda. He landed on the street, on his right foot, and rolled onto his left side. He ended up with “road rash” on his left arm and leg and wasn’t cited by police.

“I’m here,” he said, with a laugh, “so how bad is it?

“I popped right back up, but people who were there said, ‘Stay down until you’re sure you’re not hurt badly.’ I said, ‘Why?’

“I’m lucky I didn’t land on my head.”

Gardner’s head wasn’t protected by a helmet. “I usually wear one,” he said, “but it was a nice day and I wanted to let the wind blow through my hair.”

Gardner, who has a crew cut, has more luck than hair and stronger survival instincts than luck. He was back in the gym the next day to prepare for the U.S. wrestling championships, which take place Friday and Saturday in Las Vegas and will serve as a qualifying meet for the Olympic trials next month in Indianapolis.

“I covered [the damage] up pretty good,” said Gardner, whose victory over three-time gold medalist Alexander Karelin of Russia at the Sydney Games is among the most stunning upsets achieved on the Olympic stage. “It’s healing up pretty good.”

Besides, compared to his last misadventure with a recreational vehicle, it’s almost inconsequential.

Gardner nearly died in February 2002 after his snowmobile slid into a gully during a trip to the Bridger-Teton National Forest, near his family’s dairy farm in Afton, Wyo. Unable to move the snowmobile out of the water, he waited overnight for help, losing consciousness as frostbite and exposure set in.

After he was rescued, doctors had to cut his boots off with saws. They told him his foot would have to be amputated, but he refused to listen. He did lose the middle toe on his right foot and needed reconstructive skin grafts, forcing him to learn anew how to walk and maintain his balance on the mat. He missed the 2002 competitive season but returned to win the 2003 world team trials and finish 10th at the world championships.

“I think I’m back where I was,” he said last week. “Every day it gets a little better. My feet are moving better and I’m stronger than I’ve ever been before.

“I guess I maybe doubted it a little bit, but I just worked through all the kinks. I’m lucky and blessed that the good Lord gave me a strong will to live.”

And a body to match. He’s 6-2 and about 280 pounds -- on his way down to 264.5 from his Sydney weight of 286 to meet new weight standards -- with a 56-inch chest and 32-inch waist.

He’s ranked No. 1 in the U.S. in his weight class but will be tested at the U.S. championships by Dremiel Byers of Colorado Springs, who succeeded him as world champion in 2002, and Corey Farkas of Colorado Springs, who defeated him in a semifinal of the 2003 U.S. meet.

The winner in each of the seven men’s freestyle weight classes, seven Greco-Roman classes and four women’s classes will advance to the championship series at the trials. Those who place second through eighth this weekend will qualify for the trials but must participate in a challenge tournament at Indianapolis. The U.S. can send only one athlete per weight class to Athens.

“I have faith that things will favor me,” Gardner said. “My perspective is that we’re all visitors here and we’re blessed to be here. There are only two things we can all take for granted: taxes and death. We have to worry about what’s in front of us today. If I come back and win the gold medal again, that’s great. If not, I’m still blessed. But I’m planning on it.”

His motorcycle -- one of four special Olympic editions manufactured -- didn’t get off as lightly as he did in the accident. It’s still in the shop.

“I may be off it a little while,” he said. “Like until after the Olympics if I make the team for Athens.”