Lou Giani

Lou Giani wrestled for the New York Athletic Club. He won a gold medal at the 1959 Pan American Games in featherweight freestyle. In 1960 Giani was second at the AAU meet but won the US Olympic trials to make the US team for Roma. Giani was a 10-time champion of the NYAC and the Metropolitan AAU. He attended C. W. Post (undergraduate) and Adelphi College (graduate) and started a 19-year career at Grumman Aerospace Corporation, working as a group leader on the lunar escape module (LEM) for moon landings.

Giani became a wrestling coach, and taught physical education, at Huntington High School on Long Island. He led Huntington to 9 New York state titles and 28 undefeated seasons in dual meets, finishing with a career record of 436-36-1. He coached 23 state champions and 53 all-state selections. He was chosen as National High School Wrestling Coach of the Year three times. Much later in his career, Giani became a coach for MMA (mixed martial arts) fighters. He is a member of the Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame, the New York State Wrestling Hall of Fame, and in 2003, Giani was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame