Ludwig David "Lou" Banach (born February 6, 1960)[1] is an American athlete who won a gold medal in wrestling in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

He was noted with his fraternal twin brother Ed Banach for both winning gold medals in freestyle wrestling at the same Olympics.

After earning a master's in business degree at Pennsylvania State University in 1988, Banach has had a career as a banker based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

[2] The family moved to Port Jervis, New York, where the three boys all became involved in football and wrestling in high school.

[4] In 1984, Lou won a gold medal in Freestyle Wrestling in the 220-pound-weight (light heavyweight) class at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California.

[5] In that same Olympiad, American brothers Dave and Mark Schultz also both won gold medals in wrestling events.