 Sgt. 1st Class Byers celebrates winning a tournament | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | September 11, 1974 Newark, New Jersey, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home town | Kings Mountain, North Carolina, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wrestling | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight class | 120 kg (264.5 lbs) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event | Greco-Roman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | USA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Dremiel Byers (born September 11, 1974) is an American former Greco-Roman wrestler. Byers joined the World Class Athletes Program (WCAP) in 1996 and was the 2002 World Champion in Greco-Roman wrestling at 120 kg. In total, Byers won three World medals and was a two-time Olympian. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 2021.[1]
Byers was raised by a single mother in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. He carries a childhood nickname, "Bam" or "Big Bam" to the current day. Byers earned this nickname from when he was a toddler, carrying a 1-pound dumbbell as a toy. He attended Kings Mountain High School, where as a wrestler, he won a North Carolina state championship as a heavyweight in 1993.[2]
Byers attended North Carolina A&T for one year on a football scholarship. He was later forced to leave college to take care of family matters. After leaving college, he signed a 2-year enlistment in the US Army.
In the US Army, when asked if anyone in his group wrestled before, Byers mentioned how he had been a North Carolina state champion. From there, he was introduced to the Greco-Roman style of wrestling and the start of a prolific Greco-Roman wrestling career.[3] Byers joined the US Army World Class Athlete Program in 1996. He competed out of Colorado Springs, Colorado for the US Army, in the 120 kg (264.5 lbs) weight class. During his career he had many accomplishments and awards as a wrestler. He was recognized as the USA Wrestling Greco-Roman Wrestler of the Year in 1999, 2002 and 2009.
Byers would earn a gold medal in Greco-Roman at the 2002 World Wrestling Championships. He also helped the United States win its first Greco-Roman World team title at the 2007 World Wrestling Championships, with his victory in the bronze medal match clinching the team title. Byers finished his career tied with Matt Ghaffari for the most Greco-Roman World Championship medals by a United States wrestler, by achieving three medals at the World Championships.[4]
He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum’s Alan and Gloria Rice Greco-Roman Hall of Champions in 2015. In 2021, Byers was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.
Byers is an avid motorcyclist. He is a member of the motorcycle club Street Soldierz out of Denver, Colorado and is the Colorado Springs Chapter commander. Byers is a Sergeant First Class in the US Army.[5]
