Jeff Blatnick

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Jeff Blatnick

Jeff Blatnick (born July 26, 1957 in Schenectady, New York

Schenectady, New York

Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2000, the city had a population of 61,821, making it the ninth-largest city in New York....
) is a former American Super Heavyweight

Wrestling weight classes

In many styles of wrestling, opponents are matched based on weight ....
Greco-Roman wrestler

Greco-Roman wrestling

Greco-Roman wrestling is a style of amateur wrestling that is practiced throughout the world. Along with freestyle wrestling, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic games....
and cancer

Cancer

Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cell display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis . These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, do not invade or metastasize....
survivor.

nick began his career wrestling in 1973 at Niskayuna High School

Niskayuna High School

Niskayuna High School is a high school in Niskayuna , New York. ...
in Niskayuna, New York

Niskayuna (town), New York

Niskayuna is a town in Schenectady County, New York, New York, USA. The population was 20,295 at the 2000 census.The Town of Niskayuna is located in the southeast part of the county, north and east of the Schenectady, New York, and is the easternmost town in the county....
. While wrestling for Niskayuna, Blatnick became the state heavyweight champion in 1975. After graduating from Niskayuna, he attended and wrestled for Springfield College

Springfield College

Springfield College is a college located in Springfield, Massachusetts, Massachusetts. It is located on Watershops Pond, approximately two miles from Springfield's central business district....
in Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield is the largest city on the Connecticut River, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States.In the United States Census, 2000, the city population was 154,082....
.

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Jeff Blatnick (born July 26, 1957 in Schenectady, New York

Schenectady, New York

Wrestling weight classes

In many styles of wrestling, opponents are matched based on weight ....
Greco-Roman wrestler

Greco-Roman wrestling

Cancer

Wrestling

Blatnick began his career wrestling in 1973 at Niskayuna High School

Niskayuna High School

Niskayuna High School is a high school in Niskayuna , New York. ...
in Niskayuna, New York

Niskayuna (town), New York

Springfield College

Springfield, Massachusetts

1980 Summer Olympics

The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Moscow in the Soviet Union....
which boycotted the games. In 1982, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma

Hodgkin's lymphoma

Hodgkin's lymphoma, also known as Hodgkin's disease is a type of lymphoma . It was named after Thomas Hodgkin, who first described abnormalities in the lymph system in 1832....
, prompting the removal of his spleen

Spleen

The spleen is an organ found in all vertebrate animals. In humans, the spleen is located in the abdomen of the body, where it functions in the destruction of redundant red blood cells, and holds a reservoir of blood....
and appendix

Appendix

Appendix, from the Latin word of the same name, may refer to an Index / Bibliography.* In book design, an appendix is a reference section at the end of a book ...
.

After radiation therapy helped to hold the cancer in remission, Blatnick competed in and won a gold medal

Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the highest medal awarded for achievement in a non-military field. The concept comes from the military, initially with a simple recognition of military rank, and later decorations for admission to military orders dating back to medieval times....
in the 1984 Olympic Games

1984 Summer Olympics

The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984....
in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles is the largest city in the U.S. state of California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles is rated as a beta global city, has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California....
. He and his teammate, Steve Fraser

Steve Fraser

Steve Fraser was the 1984 Olympic Games Gold Medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling in the 198 lb weight class. A native of Hazel Park, Michigan, Fraser was a Michigan High School Athletic Association state wrestling champion and later an All-American in wrestling at the University of Michigan....
, were the first Americans to ever win gold in Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling history. Blatnick retired from wrestling after a second round with cancer, which required chemotherapy

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy, in its most general sense, refers to treatment of disease by chemicals that kill cells, specifically those of micro-organisms or cancer....
. He served as a television commentator during the 1988 Summer Olympics

1988 Summer Olympics

The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea....
.

Mixed martial arts

From 1994 to 2001 for UFC 4

UFC 4

UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 16, 1994, at the Expo Center Pavilion in Tulsa, Oklahoma....
to UFC 32

UFC 32

UFC 32: Showdown in the Meadowlands was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey on June 29, 2001....
, he served as a commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Ultimate Fighting Championship is a United States-based mixed martial arts organization, currently recognized as the largest MMA promotion in the world....
, and was officially named as the commissioner

Commissioner

Commissioner is in principal the title given to the holder of a commission, in the sense of a mandate, whether individually or shared, notably as member of a collegial commission....
of the UFC during UFC 17

UFC 17

UFC 17: Redemption was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 15th, 1998 at the Mobile Civic Center, in Mobile, Alabama....
. During this time he coining the name of the new sport 'Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts is a Contact sport combat sport that allows a wide variety of fighting techniques, from a mixture of martial arts traditions and non-traditions, to be used in competitions....
' and was involved in the development of the the modern rules

Mixed martial arts rules

Most rule sets for mixed martial arts competitions have evolved since the early days of vale tudo. As the knowledge about fighting techniques spread among fighters and spectators, it became clear that the original minimalist rule systems needed to be amended....
of the sport.

At present, Jeff Blatnick is a varsity wrestling coach at Burnt Hills-Balston Lake High School where the head coach is Steve Jones. and also works as a motivational speaker

Motivational speaker

A motivational speaker is a professional Public speaking who makes speeches intending to lift up and motivate their audiences....
. He resides with his wife and daughter in Clifton Park, New York

Clifton Park, New York

Clifton Park is a town in Saratoga County, New York, New York, United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, the 2006 population estimate for Clifton Park was 36,447....
.