U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman Wrestling Team arrives in Athens to begin quest for medals

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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
08/08/2004


Photos of Greco Team's Arrival    The U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman Wrestling Team arrived in Athens, Greece at 3:00 p.m. local time, Sunday, August 8, the first of the American wrestlers to arrive to compete in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. They arrived on a flight from Brussels, the final leg of a long journey from all across the United States.    The six-member team, along with two of the Olympic Coaches for Greco-Roman wrestling, emerged from the B Terminal of the Athens airport to begin their Olympic adventure and quest for medals.    "This is the same as usual," said Olympic Coach Shon Lewis of the travel. "Now the big match for us is getting into a sleeping pattern and acclimating fast, hopefully in the first 48 to 72 hours. I am excited, but very focused. We worked hard as a staff not to get into the Olympic hype."    The team members who arrived on Sunday as a group were  55 kg/121 lbs - Dennis Hall, Plover, Wis. (Sunkist Kids)  60 kg/132 lbs. - Jim Gruenwald, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)  66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Oscar Wood, Fountain, Colo. (U.S. Army)  84 kg/185 lbs. - Brad Vering, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)  96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Garrett Lowney, Freedom, Wis. (Minnesota Storm)  120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Rulon Gardner, Cascade, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)  Olympic Coach - Shon Lewis, Colorado Springs, Colo.  Olympic Coach - Andy Seras, Sandy Hook, Conn.    After walking through the terminal, they were led by USOC staff to a pair of vans, which were loaded and took them to a hotel where near they are staying. They will be living near the U.S. Olympic Commmitee training center at the American College of Greece, where they will complete their training for the Olympics.    The athletes were excited to complete their travel, rest some and get back into the final phase of their training before they compete.    "I'll be glad to get to the hotel; nothing will make me happier," said Lowney, a 2000 Olympic bronze medalist. "That was a rough, rough trip."    Lowney estimated that his travel took 25 hours to get from his home in Wisconsin to Athens, and teammate Dennis Hall, a 1996 Olympic silver medalist, needed 28 hours to arrive from his home to the Olympic city.    Lowney talked about a successful fundraising event he held in his native Wisconsin prior to his departure, which was attended by 450 people and raised considerable funds to pay for the cost for his family to attend the Olympic Games. Lowney will have 20 family and friends traveling to Athens to support him.     Wood, who also had a series of fundraisers to bring his supporters to the Games, will have a group of 23 family and friends in the stands at Ana Liossio Olympic Hall to watch him compete.     The U.S. has four previous Olympians on the team this year, one of the most experienced and talented in Greco-Roman history. In addition to medallists Lowney and Hall, the team features 2000 Olympic Champion Gardner, plus 2000 Olympian Gruenwald, who was sixth in the Sydney Games.    The Greco-Roman team planned an optional light workout at 7:00 p.m. the first night in the city. The team will have a busy first day in Athens on Monday, August 9. In the morning, the athletes and coaches will go through Team Processing, which will include receiving equipment and apparel as well as attending U.S. Olympic Team meetings. At 2:30 p.m., the team is scheduled to come to the Main Press Center, in the O.A.K.A section of the city, for its pre-Olympic press conference. In the evening, the team will have its first organized training session at the American College of Greece.    The other U.S. Olympic wrestling teams are on their way to Athens. The U.S. Women's Freestyle Olympic wrestling team arrives in Athens on Monday, August 9, and the U.S. Men's Freestyle Olympic wrestling team arrives in Athens on Thursday, August 12.