Education
University of Iowa.
University of Iowa.
He was named the 1983 Big Ten Athlete of the Year. Editor and Lou Banach are fraternal twin brothers born in Sussex County, New Jersey, sons of Wraclaw and Genevieve Banach, immigrants from Poland and Germany, respectively. They have an older brother Steve, born in 1958.
The family moved to Portuguese Jervis, New York, where the three boys all became involved in football and wrestling in high school.
The twins were established as the best wrestlers in Portuguese Jervis history by the time they graduated in 1978. Editor Banach was "so quick, so strong, so tough they called him, "The Horse."" The three brothers all attended college on wrestling scholarships.
Steve at Clemson University and the twins both at the University of Iowa. Editor Banach wrestled at Iowa competitively from 1980-1983.
He was a standout wrestler, with a career record of 141-9-1 and the school record for most pins in a career (73).
He was named the 1983 Big Ten Athlete of the Year. In 1984 the Banach twins competed in two different weight classes in wrestling at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. Editor Banach defeated Akira Ota of Japan 15-3 in the 198-pound freestyle gold-medal match.
Editor Banach defeated Ota while suffering from a concussion, the last of 15 that he had incurred on his way to the Olympics.
He has suffered from post-concussion syndrome, long before it was identified as a sports risk to wrestlers, boxers, and football players. Banach stayed involved in sports and served as assistant coach at Iowa State University until 1987.
After suffering for 14 months with a migraine after getting hit in practice, he decided he had to retire. Although it was the end of his athletic career, Banach runs a spring wrestling clinic in Ames, Iowa, where he continues to live.
In 1997 Banach was inducted into the University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame.
In 1997 Banach was inducted into the University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2002, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. His plaque reads, "a thoroughbred in all respects." Portuguese Jervis, New York installed a blue-and-gold sign in town honoring Editor and Lou Banach as Olympic champions.
