When Kurt Angle dreamed as a child of competing in the Olympics, he did not, at first, realize he had ready-made competition in his Mt. Lebanon home for what would be his eventual sport: four older brothers, all of whom wrestled.

"So, actually, I just followed their footsteps," said Mr. Angle, who won 1996 Olympic gold in freestyle wrestling.

Today, he is watching swimming phenomenon Michael Phelps and the other great athletes in the Beijing Olympics. But, unlike the average viewer, he also recalls his own experiences as he views the games.

"The opening ceremony I enjoyed, but after that I didn't say another word or talk to anyone until the competitions began," Mr. Angle said in a telephone call from Orlando, Fla., the home base of his new employer, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

"Sometimes you only have one shot, and if you don't get it right, your whole dream withers away," he said.

His dream took root when he was state and national champion at Mt. Lebanon High School and when he won NCAA titles in 1990 and 1992 at Clarion University.

When he set his sights on the Olympics in Atlanta, Mr. Angle trained eight to nine hours a day for two years, resting only one day a month.

When he cracked two vertebrae and pulled four muscles in his neck, two of four doctors he consulted said his career was over. Another said he needed at least six months to rest or he risked paralysis.

Still, he persisted.

"I definitely wasn't the best wrestler in my weight class, or the fastest or smartest," said Mr. Angle, "but I was the best conditioned."

That played to his strength, as four of the five matches stretched into overtime.

"I actually got more confident as a match went on," he said.

After Atlanta, he did the television talk show circuit of Jay Leno, David Letterman and others, and tried a brief stint as a local sports broadcaster.

In 1999, he became a pro wrestler with World Wrestling Federation, now World Wrestling Entertainment, until severe injuries and a grueling schedule forced him to retire in 2006.

Today, he is headlining TNA, a less strenuous broadcast on Spike TV.

When he isn't traveling with TNA, Mr. Angle, 39, lives in Coraopolis with wife, Karen daughter Kyra and son Kody.

He said he lost more career opportunities after a 2007 article in Sports Illustrated, which linked his name to a doctor arrested for the illegal sale of steroids.

Mr. Angle said he had consulted the doctor only for a neck injury. No charges were filed against Mr. Angle.

In another matter, he said he welcomes the chance to prove his innocence of September 2007 charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, refusing a blood test and careless driving. A nonjury trial before Judge David R. Cashman is scheduled for Sept. 9.

His advice for youngsters dreaming of an Olympics medal? "Find a sport that is right for you, stick with it, be patient. You will go through a lot of success and failure, but stick with it," he said. "The people who make it there never quit.".