Tulsa World: Olympic gold goes to those who train

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Olympic gold goes to those who train

By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist
Published: 6/30/2008 2:06 AM
Last Modified: 6/30/2008 3:49 AM

John Smith's training regimen for the Olympics is the stuff of legend.

Smith, Oklahoma State's wrestling coach, won gold medals in the 1988 and 1992 Olympics.

He did not get cheated when it came to his training schedule.

Smith would get up at 3 a.m. and go through a brutal training program.

He said he wanted to be training at the same time as his biggest gold medal rivals on the other side of the world.

He wanted to train at the same time and train harder and longer.

The way Smith approached those two Olympics is one of the great stories in USA Wrestling history. In fact, his drive to win Olympic gold has been the subject of hundreds of articles, television clips and radio interviews.

He even has admitted his drive was so strong, and his training so over the top, that he didn't become a good coach until he understood not everyone was like him.

Still, there is little question that Smith believes Olympic gold is reserved for those select few who can train harder, fight longer and be the most prepared.

Smith is one of the standard bearers for Oklahoma State wrestlers.

His two gold medals match the two golds won by former OSU star Yojiro Uetake, who wrestled for Japan.

Tulsan Kenny Monday, another OSU Olympic wrestler, won a gold and silver and wrestled in three Olympics.

Daniel Cormier and Steve Mocco became the 50th and 51st Olympians for OSU wrestling at the USA Team Trials earlier this month in Las Vegas.

OSU wrestlers have won 12 gold medals in Olympic wrestling.

It is now an eight-week sprint to the finish line for Cormier and Mocco. The Olympic freestyle wrestling tournament is scheduled for Aug. 18 in Beijing.

The most important part is in the future, but Smith, the ultimate example of the trained athlete, said the most stress is behind them.

"I think some of my hardest training was to get ready to make the team," Smith said. "That is the most stressful. You have to make the team first and get past that.

"I really believe my best training came for the trials. You are competing for a chance at your childhood dream. There is just a great deal of stress."

Cormier is on the U.S. Freestyle Wrestling Team for a second Olympics, one of just a handful of former OSU wrestlers to reach more than one Olympics.

As such, he has been through the routine leading up to the Olympics.

"I don't look at the training as anything but a pleasure," Cormier said. "I don't think it is stressful at all. You should embrace the training. This is what it is all about."

For wrestlers, time is a huge factor. Wrestling is such a difficult sport, when it comes to training, that often wrestlers burn out after training for four years leading up to the Olympics. Some, such as Cormier, are able to maintain that level of conditioning and skills for eight years.

But all wrestlers know the clock is ticking. The window of opportunity is pretty small.

"You see what kind of perseverance it takes," Smith said. "To be honest, the training doesn't change all that much after you make the team. You still have the routine you go through. In fact, if anything, you are in a great frame of mind. The stress of making the team is over.

"Once you make the team, it becomes a matter of realizing this is your opportunity. You only get this opportunity every four years. You have to realize that your opportunities for this are going to run out very soon either because of age or whatever. So, you work late at night running or lifting or whatever it takes."

Cormier said Smith's training rules are the law for him.

"If coach Smith says we're working out at 3 a.m., then we're working out at 3 a.m.," Cormier said. "We are completely prepared because of our training. Coach Smith trains us and makes sure all of the bases are covered.

"You train hard because someday you want to be like Kenny Monday or John Smith."

Mocco brought a fanatical work ethic to the OSU wrestling room when he transferred to Stillwater from Iowa. He went on to win the 2005 NCAA title for the Cowboys and was runner-up in 2006.

"From the time I was young, I dreamed of the Olympics," Mocco said. "I knew it would be a lot of hard work and a hard battle.

"Training is what it is all about. There are a lot of sacrifices involved for everyone from me to my wife and family and friends."

Mocco and Cormier hope those sacrifices, and maybe a few overnight workouts, will get them where Smith and other Cowboys have gone before — the top step of the medal stand. By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist

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HeadSteal, Tulsa (6/30/2008 11:06:58 PM)

John Smith was indeed a machine as a competitor. I would guess he's a machine as a coach as well. I think Cormier will do well.

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