Abstract
Matt Ghaffari was a Greco-Roman wrestler for the United States national team. He was an alternate on for the Los Angeles and Seoul Games and competed for the US at the Barcelona and Atlanta games, winning the silver medal at the 1996 games in Atlanta. Born in Tehran, Iran, Ghaffari immigrated to the US with his family in 1976. Ghaffari earned an Associates degree from Fairleigh-Dickinson College before transferring to Cleveland State on scholarship to fill the wrestling team's void at the heavyweight class. Ghaffari enjoyed a stellar career at Cleveland State, though injuries and unlucky turns of events plagued much of his time as a Viking. Of particular interest in this interview is his discussion of being part of two Olympic teams, his experiences regarding the bombing of Cenntenial Park in Atlanta, and the whirlwind that followed his silver medal showing. Also, Ghaffari's description of Fenn Tower and his recap of his collegiate career provides insight into the life of a division one athlete competing at the highest level.
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Interviewee
Ghaffari, Matt (interviewee)
Interviewer
Wickens, Joe (interviewer)
Project
CSU at 50
Date
8-28-2014
Document Type
Oral History
Duration
72 minutes
Recommended Citation
"Matt Ghaffari Interview, 28 August 2014" (2014). Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection. Interview 500032.
https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/crohc000/692
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
