May 29, 2000
March 29 2000

The training partners were few and far between this past week. However, we were able to make the best out of the situation. Rob Smyth, Neal Ewers, Travis Cross and Chris Wilson were on hand to heat up the room. We warmed up with soccer as usual, and handled ourselves silly.

"The Old soldier never dies" is a true saying. Chris Wilson, a former World silver (1991) and bronze (1993) medallist. He has been coming out on occasion to train with me and show me some of those prohibited explosive moves of his. Friday is the day that stands out the most when he came out and exposed some of my weaknesses. I have a lot of respect for people who come out and take it to the younger guys, especially when they've been retired for 6 years. After Friday's session, I vowed to pound the treadmills and the weights much harder. That way, I figure the "old soldier" may just be in for a bloodbath. Thanks Chris, for coming out and sharpening me up, I need it.

We received news from the last Olympic qualifying tournament this weekend. A big congratulations go to Justin Abdou for qualifying for the Show. Unfortunately, Nick and Nasir did not make it. With Nick a weight class higher and Nasir a weight class lower, I really hoping they'd be there to train with me. I had prayed ceaselessly for them to secure spots for the Olympics. But as it turned out, it wasn't to be. I am especially touched by Nick's plight because we watched tapes together and discussed wrestling, something I have been doing for a while.

It's tough when you don't make your goal, especially a dream like the Olympics. In 1992 I had a similar experience when I was a very hungry 62 kg Greco Roman wrestler in Nigeria. We had been in training camp for a month getting ready for the Olympic qualifying tournament in Senegal and were ready to secure our spots to the Barcelona Olympics. I had cut 8 kilos to make the weight and I was ready to serve notice. Upon arriving at the airport, we were told that there was not enough money for both styles to travel, so Greco wrestlers were dropped for the trip. To date, it has been the most disappointing event in my life. I did not step on the wrestling mats for more than a month afterwards and even contemplated retirement because of the frustration ( even though I was just 18 at the time). There was something positive that emanated from that trip though, I switched styles the following year and made the freestyle team. And now here I am getting pumped for the Olympics.

LET THE HEALING BEGIN!