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A giant symbol

REUTERS, Athens
REUTERS, Athens
A giant man placing his blue boots in the centre of a yellow mat would be a strange sight to the uninitiated.
But to American Rulon Gardner, the symbolism was huge.
The Greco-Roman wrestler did much to make his once obscure sport popular by beating the long-invincible Russian Alexander Karelin at the Sydney Olympics four years ago and by displaying an articulate personality at odds with wrestling's image.
By placing his boots on the mat at the Athens Games after winning his bronze medal bout on Wednesday, Gardner was announcing officially what he had already signalled -- that he was retiring after an amazing fight against adversity.
"For me, to come back and win a medal like this -- even though it's a bronze medal -- I have no regrets," Gardner said after defeating Iranian Sajad Barazi. "I'm happy with bronze."
Most people would be happy just to be still standing after the last couple of years Gardner has been through.
In 2002, Gardner narrowly escaped death when he was stranded in freezing cold of minus 25 degrees Celsius after his snowmobile broke down in a forest. He lost a toe to frost bite.
This year, he has survived a motorbike accident and qualified for the Olympics little more than a month after dislocating a wrist in a basketball game.
"Even if I hadn't medalled, I'd be happy," the 33-year-old said after his tearful farewell in the Athens arena, where he held a US flag aloft and saluted his fans.
Gardner's supporters held up a large sheet covered with good luck messages from his home town of Afton, Wyoming.
"I took my shoes off for the last time as a wrestler and now I get to coach," Gardner said.
His retirement gesture mirrored that of Greek strongman Pyrros Dimas who bowed out after winning the bronze medal in the men's 85kg weightlifting competition last Saturday.
Coaching life should be quieter than the years on the celebrity circuit Gardner has spent since his Olympic triumph in Sydney, appearing on all the big American chat shows.
"It's tough to be a celebrity," Gardner said.
"You don't really picture yourself as a celebrity when you're down there on the mat, sweating on each other."