Round 2

Women's wrestling made it's Olympic debut in the 2004 Athens Games.  Here are Jenny Wong's journals:

Olympic Women’s Wrestling Journal through Monday, August 30 - final posting!
9/2/2004
Jenny Wong/Women's Team USA

Thursday, August 12

I just arrived here in Athens at 2:05 am this morning. The rest of the team had arrived on Monday, but I had lost my passport, and had to get a new one made. (I’m not always that absent-minded, I promise!) I received the new one on Tuesday morning, and left the States that afternoon. The new picture is absolutely horrendous, which is unfortunate because I really paid a lot for that expedited passport.

I am happy to be here, especially because I am no longer leaving Sara McMann in need of a training partner. I am lucky that she is so understanding, as she has had some passport difficulties in the past herself--but you’ll just have to ask her about that yourself.

From talking to the girls, I have found out that it has just been training as usual, just like any other international trip. While the Olympians are honored to be a part of something so special, especially because they are making history by being among the first female Olympic wrestlers, they know that it is also “just another tournament”, and they are not letting themselves get distracted by everything that is going on around them. They are simply going about their normal preparations, carefully and systematically fine-tuning their technique and mat strategies, so that they will be as prepared as they can be.

The USOC has rented the campus of the American College of Greece for the American athletes to do their final training before the Games. It is essentially a home away from home, and it affords just about everything that the Training Center in Colorado Springs has, including weights and cardio machines, full-sized wrestling mats, sports medicine, and even sport psychologists. It seems like it was an excellent idea; and the teams are enjoying the relative peacefulness, privacy, convenience, and accessibility of the facilities.

Editor’s Note: Jenny Wong, a 2003 World bronze medalist in women’s wrestling and a training partner for the 2004 U.S. Olympic women’s wrestling team, is writing a daily journal about the team during their experience at the Olympics in Athens. This journal is being written on behalf of the team, with the support of the coaches and athletes.

Friday, August 13

Yesterday afternoon, we had a live wrestling practice, after a fun game of freeze tag. I think that Tom Tomeo, the Women’s Developmental Coach, is probably the hardest to tag; he always seems to escape your reach even when he starts from two feet away. Katie Kunimoto, Patricia’s training partner, is the most fun to go after because she screams like crazy as she runs away. After the warmup, we were all pouring with sweat. The hot and humid air of Greece makes it easy to sweat, and that will be a welcome asset come weight cutting time.

After that, we got right into the live wrestling. We did some situations, with the training partners working in on the Olympians in different positions, such as the Olympian stalking their partner, with their partner diving in on shots, the Olympian starting with a front tripod, the training partner in on various shots, etc. Terry Steiner and the rest of the coaching staff watched the Olympians very attentively, and made some minor tweaks on some of the techniques. The Olympians really didn’t need that many adjustments, as they felt pretty strong in the various positions.

This morning, we had a circuit lift with our strength and conditioning coach, Patrick Borkowski. After an hour of power cleans, front squats, rows, lunges, pull-ups, and more, we headed up to the auditorium, where the former President George Bush spoke to a full room of athletes and staff. Immediately after his speech, he came down to meet many of the athletes. He was very gracious, pausing to shake hands and take pictures with anyone who asked.

The opening ceremonies are today, so we were given this afternoon and tomorrow morning off. The athletes are not expected to return from the opening ceremonies until about 1:30 am, so the training partners are going to go to the beach, and then to a toga party being held at the College.

Saturday, August 14

As I mentioned yesterday, the team attended the opening ceremonies last night. I asked Sara what it was really like for the athlete. She said that it was a whole lot of shuffling and waiting around, but it was well worth it for the many inspirational moments that came to follow, the ones that brought a tear to your eye and left you with goosebumps up and down your arms. She said that the first time that she walked out and saw how excited the thousands of people were to see them, it struck her how important the Olympics really are around the world. When the torch was lit, Sara said that she could feel her chest swell with pride for her team and her country.

Tela was especially taken by the “biggness” of everything. Coming from the small town of Homer, Alaska, she had never seen anything of this magnitude. She appreciated how much preparation the organizers had put into such a magnificent event, and she also expressed pride in being part of the Olympic Games.

This morning we had off, but some of the girls got some extra cardio in. In the afternoon, we did some drill executions, one minute par terre goes, one minute goes from the feet, and one full match. We were all pouring with sweat, and Sara and I had to move to a different area of the mat after every time she took me down so that we didn’t slip in our sweat puddles.

Many reporters have been asking the team if they have had fears about their security. We have had no fears about our security, however, we have had some nerve-racking moments in our car. Our driver, though actually really safe, still manages to be a crazy driver. The disturbing thing is that not only does he delight in our fear; our fear actually encourages him to scare us even more.

Sunday, August 15

Last night, after our afternoon practice, we all gathered at our team leader, Art Martori’s, apartment. Katie Kunimoto, who is the resident team’s best cook, made us dinner. Training partners Marcie Van Dusen and Kristie Marano, and assistant coach Tadaaki Hatta all were helping Katie, until she fired them each of them, one by one. Katie then continued to cook by herself, until the fuse blew because we were using too much electricity. But I must add that the meal was super, despite the difficulties.

This morning, a couple of the girls drilled a bit at 8 am. Then, around ten o’clock, we started a good game of ultimate frisbee. After playing for over an hour, the team ate lunch and went back to the hotel to get some rest.

This afternoon, we did some drills, wrestled a six-minute match, and then wrestled a hard drill bout. It seemed especially humid today, and we poured with sweat. The girls seem to be wrestling well, clean and quick, and the heat and humidity does not seem to be affecting their conditioning in the least. I think that Terry and the rest of the coaching staff are pleased.
 

Monday, August 16

Today has been very similar to the past couple days, cardio on our own or a game of “butt ball” in the morning, and a live practice in the afternoon. Since there is not too terribly much to say about that, I was thinking that I would write about one of the girls. People read all the articles about them, but I don’t think that those articles give a complete picture of who they really are. Don’t worry, I’m only writing about one today, but I will definitely get to all of them at some point.

Since I am Sara McMann’s training partner, I am going to start with her.

People all see Sara in her competitive mode, and they see an aggressive and quick wrestler with clean technique. Sara carries that same passion that she has on the mat with her at all times, but her normal personality is entirely different. She can be really crazy and goofy a lot of the times, which makes her fun to be around.

Another thing that I have to say might seem obvious: this girl LOVES wrestling. “Of course,” one thinks, but most people don’t know the extent of Sara’s love of wrestling. She thinks about it all the time; and she loves to talk about it too. A few of us girls like to tease her that she is able to turn every conversation into one about wrestling, even if we were just talking about, say, hangnails.

Sara is also a genuinely caring person, and many of the girls go to her from time to time in search of advice, or even just a listening ear. She is always willing to help out, and her kindness is appreciated by many.


Tuesday, August 17

Last night, most of us went to see the women’s volleyball team play Germany, and we were happy to see that the US team beat Germany three out of four sets. We took the long and scenic route back from the game, thanks to Patricia’s boyfriend, Levi.

Today is our day off. Many of the team members are still doing some light cardio for weight control, and some of the group went to do some sightseeing on one of the islands off the coast of Greece for the day.

Now, on to Tela O’Donnell... On the mat, Tela is a scrappy wrestler who gets into some crazy scrambles. In regular life, Tela is as unique as her wrestling style is. She does everything her own way, creatively, and it usually seems to work out just fine. As an example, one time we were camping out in the woods. I had to go to the bathroom, but as I am more of an “indoor girl”, I couldn’t go to the bathroom outside. So Tela came up with the cleverest idea, she thought to build me a toilet out of rocks, and all was well!

As for her personality, Tela likes to be crazy sometimes, but she is always very sweet. She is also always sensitive to the feelings of others, and she is a great friend.

Tela can often be found singing and playing her guitar in her room. She also loves to go hiking and her newest hobby is fly-fishing. (She caught two fish last time!) Outdoor adventures aside, Tela is also most likely the girliest of the Olympic Team. She likes to wear dresses, especially ones that she has sewn herself, and she loves to wear pink.

Wednesday, August 18

Since we had yesterday off, Tela, Kristie and I decided to try to get around the city by ourselves. The transportation system that the Athens Olympic Committee has set up worked well; it includes buses, a subway system, and trams that take spectators to many of the competition venues. We finally ended up near the Acropolis, where there is a wonderful market where one can buy souvenirs and food. We shared a gyro, which is a Greek specialty that consists of meat, tomatoes, onions, and sauce on pita bread; and then we headed back to the hotel.

Many of the girls went to an island for the day, and they said that they had a great time seeing the beautiful beaches and other sights. Coming back, the taxi driver tried to overcharge the girls, asking them to pay double. The poor taxi driver really didn’t know who he was trying to mess with—Sara took care of it; and the driver was none the richer for it!

Today, we had a fairly short practice in the morning that included drilling, a live match, and a bunch of par terre goes. Practices are getting shorter now; all the hard work has been put in already. All the girls have left to do now is to keep their weight under control and recover so that they feel good and ready to go. There are only a few days left until weigh-ins, and all the girls have their weight under control, so I think that they in good shape.

This afternoon, the girls did what we call a Russian sauna, which is something that the resident team always does before big competitions. It consists of several long goes in the sauna, broken up by cold showers and partner massages. We feel that the sauna goes cleanse the system and get the body ready for the weight cutting ahead.

Thursday, August 19

This morning, the girls had a light practice, of which a large portion was par terre defense. It’s nice that we have such a variety of practice partners, because the Olympians can get a different “look” from each one.

In the afternoon, we played a game of basketball. Watching wrestlers play basketball is always a funny thing; most of us are like four feet tall and our ball handling skills leave much to be desired. And as for me, it reminds me why I decided wrestle instead.

Next, we took to the field for some butt-ball. For all of you who think that Terry Steiner is always nice and mild-mannered, I must tell you the cold, hard truth: he’s not afraid to push or shove his poor wrestler girls down to get to the ball. Regardless, good prevailed, and my team won in the end.

This evening, Sara and I were fortunate enough to score some tennis tickets. We went to the Olympic Sports Complex, and the group of venues was just beautiful. There were so many sculptures and fountains, and there was also the Olympic Torch burning there, as bright as ever.

Sara and I have no idea how tennis is played, or why the scoring goes 15, 30, 40; but we still enjoyed watching the game and trying to figure it out. We watched a couple games and then went back to the hotel

Friday, August 20

Today is the day before weigh-ins. The girls are all still doing very well with their weight, and things seem to be just about in place for tomorrow. The training partners, coaches, and especially our team leader, Art Martori; have been doing the final preparations for the all important “after-weigh-in meals”. Art and the coaches have also been making the meal and rest arrangements for during the tournament, so hopefully the Olympians can be as worry-free as possible.

Continuing on with becoming acquainted with the Olympians…

There aren’t too many people who know Toccara Montgomery extremely well. But for those who do, it’s definitely a pleasure.

Many of the girls started seeing Toccara around the freestyle circuit about five years ago. We had seen how fierce and intimidating she was on the mat, but we didn’t really know what she was like outside of competition. From what we saw, she was always quiet and stayed to herself. So when we were all together at a World Team training camp in Chicago, we thought that we would have to drag her out of her shell—but we didn’t know exactly how to do that.
One day, the coach was handing out National Team warm-ups, in size order. He started with the smalls, and when he was done, he asked, “Anyone else need a small?” Toccara, totally straight faced, reached out her hand and said, “I’ll take a small.” (She was 5’6” tall and at the 67 kg. weight class at the time.)

We all looked at her and then looked at each other and thought, “Did she actually just say something? Did she just make a joke???” Then we all just cracked up.

Toccara is always just like that. She will be totally silent, then she’ll say the funniest thing…kind of like how she wrestles—she will lull her opponent into a more relaxed state, then she’ll whip out her blast double out of nowhere.

Toccara is one of the funniest and sweetest girls, and I hope that more people can get glimpses of this side of her—it’s so much fun to be around.

Saturday, August 21

Weigh-in day!!! Competition time is so close! The girls are getting ready to do their final weight cut in about an hour. They are either down to weight or very close. Katie Kunimoto is ready to cook their after weigh-in meal; the training partners have all the Olympians’ drinks cold and ready.

Today’s quote of the day, spoken by Marcie Van Dusen while she was giving Coach Townsend Saunders directions to the USOC Operations Center in Athens: “See that street that has the “Do not enter” sign? Yes, go down that one.” (Note: Townsend refused.)

Patricia Miranda has had a lot of press lately and rightfully so—her admission to Yale Law School and her struggles when she was beginning to wrestle make for really good press. Her grinding, yet technical style of wrestling makes for interesting matches. But there is more to her than just those things.

Patricia difficult to define as a person, I still haven’t quite figured her all out. But this is what I see: She is a very cerebral individual. She dissects everything in her mind, carefully forming her opinions, and then sticking to them. Patricia has a strong sense of right and wrong, and she will fight for something that might not even affect her simply by virtue of adherence to her personal values and principles.

This all makes her sound very serious, but she’s really not “all business, all the time”. She is really a kind, thoughtful, and sensitive person, who cares very much about those who are close to her. She is never too busy to listen to a friend who has a problem, and she really enjoys helping people.

Patricia is very pleasant to be around; her sweet smile and her cheerful and uplifting spirit keep those around her in a good mood.

That’s it for the girls…WRESTLING STARTS TOMORROW!!!

Monday, August 23

Sorry, I missed yesterday’s entry, but we were busy watching the tournament and then preparing for today.

Toccara had the toughest draw, meeting Japan’s 5x World Champion in her first match. After a difficult match, she fell 8-4. She came back to beat the Bulgarian by fall, but still lost her pool.

Tela pinned a Russian that had previously teched her, a big accomplishment, but then lost to the eventual silver medalist, Verbeek of Canada.

Patricia advanced out of her pool by winning three great matches, then lost to the three-time World Champion and eventual Olympic gold medalist, Merlini of Ukraine. She rebounded and beat the French girl by technical fall to win the bronze, the first Olympic medal ever awarded to a U.S. woman.

Sara lost her gold medal match in a very controversial match against two-time World Champion Kaori Icho of Japan.

After Sara’s match, I looked around and saw many of our group’s members’ eyes shining with tears – not because we were disappointed in her performance but because we love her and we wanted it so badly for her.

But I am confident that I know Sara well and I know that any setback will fuel her fire inside her and she will come back and set her sights on the next challenge and then throw herself wholeheartedly into it. Her will and her character have the strength to withstand this blow.

None of the girls got what they wanted, but I hope they don’t let that take away from their huge accomplishments. I hope that they know how proud we are of them and they are proud of themselves as well.

Sports are not merely games, especially when you invest so much time, energy and heart into them. They can be devastating or they can be euphoric. But, even with all this, we must remember to keep things in perspective. Each of these girls have a life, the love of friends and family and adrive that will take them far in all areas of life. Someday they will come to appreciate the life lessons that they have been given simply by taking part in the greatest sport of them all, the sport of wrestling.
 

Monday, August 30

The Olympic Games are over, and two women on the U.S. wrestling team leave Athens with medals. They are not the gold medals that they sought to earn, but they are medals to be extremely proud of, nonetheless. Remembering the discontent that Patricia felt on the night that she won the bronze, and the pain that was all over Sara’s face during the medal ceremony in which she received the silver, I was wondering how Patricia and Sara were feeling a few days after the competition was done.

Patricia reflected on rebounding from her semifinal loss, demonstrating the mental strength and resiliency that makes her such a great competitor. She said, “There is a point after you lose, where you must speed up a lot of the grieving process--to make your mind right in order to be able to perform again. After you’ve been dealt the fact that you’re not getting the gold, there’s still work to be done.”

She still felt pride in fighting for the highest place that she could possibly get, as she said that she owed it to herself, her team, and her country. She persevered to earn the bronze medal, and to get her country’s flag raised. In Patricia’s words, “It was not perfect, but it was still wonderful.”

Sara, as she always does, had to make her peace with the results in a somewhat more unconventional way: she lost her medal.

She held her medal in her hands as she was sleeping in an MSNBC station car, on her way back from an interview. As she slept, the medal slipped from her hands. She did not realize the fact until some hours later, when she was preparing for another interview.

She spent two full and frantic hours looking for it, trying to remember where it was and making phone calls. During this time, she also talked to God. She finally realized how much the silver medal really meant to her, and she made a deal with God that if it was returned, she would be more appreciative about the silver medal that she had, rather than dwelling on not getting the gold that she wanted.

Not five seconds after she said it, she heard the security guard’s voice as he was speaking into the phone, “You found it!”

It turned out that had slid under the seat in the car, and it had been difficult to see until a cameraman had shined his camera light under the seats. The medal was taken back to the MSNBC offices, where many of the workers soon were having a great time trying it on and taking pictures with it.

Once Sara received the medal back, she kept her pact with God, and she feels that this incident has actually helped her in the healing and recovery process. She may not have gotten the gold, but the gratitude that she found was a greater lesson to her, and the appreciation that she gained is a far more valuable gift for her to take from all this.

She said, “Being happy with what you get when you give it your all will make you happier than mourning what you didn’t achieve--because life doesn’t always give you everything that you want.”

Losing is as big a part of wrestling as winning is. Losses can be unbelievably painful, but I think that they make the best learning experiences. However, as Patricia once told me, it’s okay to mourn them for a little while, but then you must use them to make you better and then let them go. I can honestly say that my own losses have done more to develop my wrestling and build my character than any of my wins have, and I think that most wrestlers would agree.

As I finish, I want to say that all of our girls--Patricia, Tela, Sara, and Toccara--represented our country well, with grace in victory and in defeat, and that it has been an honor to witness their journey. We should all be very proud of them.



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