Be it Ben Johnson, Marion Jones, Tonya Harding, Rulon Gardner, or even Jim Thorpe, Olympic athletes are no strangers to shame.

FORBES: Olympian-Turned-Call Girl Susy Hamilton Performs No Favors for Her Future Marketability

"Many people who went to work in the electric power industry were there for 25, 30, 40 years, " instructor Rulon Crawford says.

NPR: Young Workers Find Opportunity In Power Industry

Rulon has had a tough time since taking gold in Sydney.

FORBES: After Amputation, Motorcycle Accident And Plane Crash, Olympic Gold Medal Wrestler Rulon Gardner Now Faces Bankruptcy

After a string of setbacks, including having his toe amputated, surviving a motorcycle accident and a plane crash, Olympic gold medalist Rulon Gardner is now facing bankruptcy.

FORBES: After Amputation, Motorcycle Accident And Plane Crash, Olympic Gold Medal Wrestler Rulon Gardner Now Faces Bankruptcy

"Snakes will rarely strike a flagging adult squirrel, and if they do they almost always miss, " said Rulon Clark, assistant professor of biology at San Diego State University.

CNN: April 4, 2012 -- Updated 1350 GMT (2150 HKT)

Wrestler Rulon Gardner has faced enough obstacles to last a lifetime since his gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics when he defeated Russian Alexander Karelin, who had not lost for 13 years.

FORBES: Suzy Favor Hamilton Is The Latest Olympic Athlete To Crash And Burn

The Tuesday announcement that the IOC was dropping wrestling entirely stunned Rulon Gardner, the American who pulled off a famous Olympic upset at the 2000 Sydney Games, when he beat Russian legend Aleksandr Karelin to win Greco-Roman gold.

WSJ: Wrestling Dropped From Olympics