Men's freestyle Olympic Games session 2 quotes
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John Fuller (USA Wrestling)
08/27/2004
55 kg/121 lbs. - Stephen Abas, Fresno, Calif. (Sunkist Kids) Do you feel good about your chances for gold here? "This is the farthest I have ever made it at this level. I'm ready to take it to a whole new level now." What were your thoughts when you were down 3-0 to the Cuban? "I think I just tried to score as many points as I could. I tried to stay offensive and keep the pressure on him. It just seemed to turn out my way." What was your reaction when you saw the draw yesterday? "I was a little surprised. It was actually something I said was pointed to me, just for the simple face that I've wrestled this Cuban before and I wrestled Tulbea in the quarterfinals last year at the Worlds. It was funny just for the simple fact that I've wrestled those guys before and I knew I could beat them both." 66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Jamill Kelly, Stillwater, Okla. (Gator WC) How does it feel to make the semifinals of the Olympics? "It feels good. The first match I felt a lot better condition-wise, even though it went to two clinches. This match, I felt lethargic. There was a lot of stuff I should have finished. It's over with. It's another victory. I'll take it any way I can get it. How did you feel in the clinch in the second match? "He had the first lock, so I wasn't going to try anything. He actually had good position. He was keeping his head down, which is supposed to be a caution and they weren't calling it. My lock was almost gone. I was just trying to keep it." Is the pressure off now? "Now I can just let it go. I'm just going to go out there and lay it on the line." 84 kg/185 lbs. - Cael Sanderson, Ames, Iowa (Sunkist Kids) You showed a lot of emotion in that match. "I don't know what got into me. It was a big match. Then having to come from behind makes it that much more special I guess." Was that match closer than you wanted it to be? "I wasn't pleased with giving up points like I did. It happens and that's my style of wrestling. I give up a lot of points in unnecessary situations. That's something I'm trying to reduce a little bit to make it a little bit easier on myself." How did you feel in this match? "I felt real good. I was having fun when I was out there, even when I was down. It's been a few matches since I felt like that. It was fun." How is it possible to have fun when you are losing by two? "It was just a good match. The crowd was into it. I knew I could come back. He's a tough guy. He obviously had a pretty good gameplan against me. It was a good match. If you win, you're moving on. If you don't, you're going to the parking lot." You've dreamed your whole life of competing here. How does it feel to be in the semifinals? "Even here, it's hard to believe you're actually at the Games and in two minutes you're going to step on the mat in the quarterfinals. A lot's been building up here. Tomorrow, I've got an extremely tough day. I'm 0-4 against the two I'm expecting to wrestle - Sazhidov and Romero." 120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Kerry McCoy, Bethlehem, Pa. (New York AC) What are your thoughts right now? "I felt like I was dominating the match. I don't even know how he got his point on the board. Every time I started getting something going, he would poke me in the eye. I figured I would get one or two penalty points out of that. The next thing I know I looked and the score was tied. I was thinking too much instead of wrestling. It cost me again." Did you feel like you didn't attack enough? "I couldn't score. It's hard to attack when someone's got their finger in your eye, but ultimately it came down to the clinch, and that's a position I should have been better at."