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AFTER THE GOLD MEDAL, WHAT NEXT? by Bill Horlacher A year has passed since John Peterson took America's only wrestling gold medal in the '76 Olympics. Here's a look at his life, post-Montreal.       John Peterson. You say you already know his story. "Wasn't he the fella who won a gold medal in Montreal...his brother got the silver?"       Right you are. But have you managed to keep up with John in the year since his Olympic wrestling victory? Take a shot at the following choices.       In the last year, John Peterson has:       1) competed with Muhammad Ali in a wrestler vs. boxer showdown.       2) signed a $2 million contract with the New York Yankees to be a body-, guard for all those other millionaires.       3) formed a professional Wrestling "tag team," along with brother Ben Peterson.       4) begun studying Russian so he can find his way around at the 1980 Mos-cow Olympics.       5) all of the above, none of the above or "What in the world are you people at Worldwide Challenge trying to do to me?"       The answer is number 5--none of the above, that is. But what direction has John Peterson's life taken since his 1976 triumph? How has he reacted to the at-tentions of a hero-worshiping society?       "It's opened up a whole new world, a lot different from what a farm kid from northern Wisconsin was used to," says John.       Although John is still involved in the same work, that work has taken on a new dimension. He's still an athlete and coach for the Athletes in Action East wrestling team, one of several AIA teams that present the gospel during competitions against major university teams. Now, however, the spotlight is almost always on John. Like it or not, the Olympic champion now frequently hears the words, "John Peterson and the Athletes in Action East wrestlers."       Of course, John's stature as a gold medalist has opened countless avenues for speaking of his faith in Jesus Christ. He's said "yes" to as many opportunities as possible, and for a while was averag-ing about 10 speaking engagements per week.       But everything hasn't come up takedowns and falls for the 180.5-pound wrestler. He hasn't always felt comforta-ble as a celebrity. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Peterson of Comstock, Wis., raised John and their other children to trust humbly in Christ. Since John's goal in life is to focus on Jesus, he doesn't always enjoy it when people want to focus on him.       "People will shake his hand and say, 'How are you doing?' like they've known him for years," notes John's wife, Nancy. "And then they will want their picture taken with him. He doesn't understand it."       Even for the modest Peterson, however, temptation to pride has occasionally come forth. Fortunately, John knows how to deal with it. In 1972, he won a silver medal while his brother Ben took a gold. When the two switched finishes in 1976, John had his brother's earlier experience as a gold medal winner to draw upon--plus his experience with the silver. He knows how important it is to keep his thoughts centered on God.       Then there are the events which directly preceded John's Montreal victory. All that's needed to prevent a "big head" is for John to think back on a series of struggles he once faced. THE STRUGGLES       It all started exactly a year before the Olympics. John was working out with a teammate and tore a tendon in his shoulder. Thus, he could not train from August through November. More than seven months were still left, however, before the XXI Olympiad.       In January and February, John toured Russia and Poland with a United States all-star team. Upon his return, he immediately went to the national collegiate championships to recruit wrestlers for AIA. The exertions of travel and competition left their mark on John's health. He was hospitalized with mononucleosis on February 26.       Just five months were left before the Olympics, and John could only dream of wrestling. He slept 14 hours per day for six weeks. It was now a possibility, even a probability, that he wouldn't be able to get ready for the great international competition.       "It was close enough to the Olympics that I should have been really working hard," says the 28-year-old. "I started to think, 'Maybe God doesn't want me to make this Olympic team.' I had to be satisfied to not even try out if it were God's will.       "I knew God didn't need my being in the Olympics to bring people into His kingdom. I knew He could use it, but He didn't need it. I had a peace about things as I was there on my back in the hospital.''       Occasionally, though, anxiousness re-placed the peace. "There were times I would think, 'What is this going to do to me if I have to watch other people com-pete instead of me?'" says John. "But I think my friends were always sadder than I was. They thought wrestling was the great goal of my life, and some of them thought there was no way I could come back in time after mono."       Miraculously, the powerful Peterson bounced back to resume workouts in mid-April. He mentions his excellent conditioning prior to the illness as a possible reason for his quick recovery. "It almost sounds like I'm bragging about the good condition I was in," notes John, "but I give the credit to God for giving me the desire to work hard and for surrounding me with others who were working hard."       John's struggles hadn't ended, how-ever. Five days before the trials began, John discovered that a mat burn on his knee was badly infected. With soreness and swelling still present the night be-fore he was to wrestle, John considered scratching from the field. He could still try out for the U. S. team later, but his chances would not be as good if he didn't wrestle in the trials. So he wrestled...and won.       A grateful John Peterson stood on the awards platform in Montreal. He realized God had given him the talent and motivation necessary to win the gold medal.       Likewise, Peterson now realizes that God allowed him to find a helpful humbling through his injuries. "It would have been easy for a guy who did well in the '72 Olympics, won the World Cup twice and then topped it all off with a gold medal to say, 'Look atme. I'm pretty hot stuff.' But I know that without God's strength--both physically and mentally--I wouldn't have been able to do it."       John compares his succession of ailments with God's pruning of Gideon's army in the Old Testament. Had Israel defeated the Midianites with their original 32,000 men, notes John, they would have then boasted in their own military might. But when God gave them victory despite an army of only 300, it was God who got the glory. John refers to the same principle in explaining how he ever managed to win a gold medal with only four months of Olympic training.       Peterson's continuing humility is evident to those near him. "He's the same old John," his mother says affectionately. Wife Nancy agrees that a gold medallion hasn't changed her husband. "He is the same silly, serious, interesting guy I fell in love with," says John's bride of September, 1975.       That "same silly, serious, interesting guy" is willing to put up with all the fuss of being a big name. It's worth it to him, since he's able to communicate the gospel to so many. But he's really more at home talking in a low-key fashion to ordinary, everyday-type people.       Ask John about the most "exciting" things that have happened to him since Montreal, and he'll mention conversations with an elderly man and a shy college student.       He met the older man when the AIA East wrestling team was speaking in Syracuse, N. Y. "After I gave my testimony," John recalls, "this man of about 70 came up and said he envied my faith. I told him, 'You don't have to envy it. You can have the same faith I do.' Later we had lunch together. He didn't trust Christ as his Savior, but it was really fulfilling to talk with him."       Not every Olympic winner would list such an experience among his thrills, but to John Peterson such things are important. "God is the center of his life," says John's mom, "and it's one of the highlights of his life to bring someone to the Lord Jesus."       Then there's the story of the college student. John and his teammates were performing a wrestling demonstration at East Carolina University just before Christmas. They presented the gospel and watched for the reactions of their audience. "I noticed this one student who was obviously not a popular kid," says John. "He didn't have a positive self-concept, and he wasn't outgoing. He was just standing at one side of the room. After the meeting, I asked what he thought about what we'd said. I had a really good time talking with him, and he asked Christ into his life later that night. It was a chance to talk with somebody who wasn't a hero worshiper--something I haven't been able to do as much as before 1976."       Maybe you've gotten the impression by now that John Peterson doesn't want the gold medal to bring a drastic change to his life. That's exactly right, except that he's glad for the chance it gives him to tell more people about his Savior.       So now you're up to date on John Peterson, right? You're ready for a final quiz. Since winning a gold medal in the 1976 Olympic Games, John Peterson has:       1) continued to wrestle and coach with Athletes in Action.       2) continued to share his faith with all who are interested.       3) continued to put God--not his medal--at the center of his life.       Are you looking for "all of the above?" Good. You've got the idea.