Four 2007 World Championships medalists received payments from a special fund from private donors earmarked for U.S. wrestlers who earn multiple medals for the United States. Receiving this special financial award were Harry Lester (Akron, Ohio/Gator WC), Sara McMann (Gaffney, S.C./Sunkist Kids), Katie Downing (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) and Kristie Marano (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC). Lester won a bronze medal at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. in the men's Greco-Roman division at the 2007 World Wrestling Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. He was also a bronze medalist at the 2006 World Championships in Guangzhou, China. McMann won a bronze medal at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. in the women's freestyle division at the 2007 World Wrestling Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. McMann was a silver medalist at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. She has also won a silver medal at the 2003 World Championships in New York City, and a bronze medal at the 2005 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Downing won a bronze medal at 67 kg/147.5 lbs. in the women's freestyle division at the 2007 World Wrestling Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. She also won a bronze medal at the 2005 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Marano won a silver medal at 72 kg/158.5 lbs. in the women's freestyle division at the 2007 World Wrestling Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. In this quadrennium, she also won a World bronze medal at the 2006 World Championships in Guangzhou, China. Overall, Marano has won nine career World medals, including two gold medals, five silver medals and two bronze medals. She has tied the U.S. record for the most career World medals with nine, matching the achievement of the legendary Bruce Baumgartner. The 2007 year marked the most athletes who qualified and the most money awarded during the three-year history of this program. "This is what the program is supposed to do: To provide an incentive for the athletes who medal to continue to pursue their wrestling careers. We know from previous experience that winning a medal is strongly correlated with winning medals in the Olympics," said Stan Dziedzic, the past USA Wrestling president who has spearheaded the development of the program. "For the athletes who are eligible for these funds it provides an incentive to devote sufficient time to prepare themselves for success in Beijing." A group of wrestling leaders, who are also successful in the private sector, have raised funds for that provide financial rewards to wrestlers who win more than one World-level medal for the United States. This is additional funding for these athletes above and beyond what they will receive from USA Wrestling and the U.S. Olympic Committee for their wrestling achievements. These private donors, with Dziedzic's leadership, are working with USA Wrestling to coordinate and expand the program, with the goal of improving the U.S. performance at the World and Olympic levels. "It is not just me, but a group of outstanding people who see the merit of the program and have contributed or indicated their willingness to contribute to the program, leaders such as Bill Scherr, John Bardis, Troy Wiseman, Alan Rice, Jim Bennett, Irv Naylor and Steve Silver," said Dziedzic. Those who are eligible for this fund are past Olympic wrestling medalists for the United States. In addition, any U.S. athlete who wins two World and/or Olympic medals during an Olympic quadrennium (four-year cycle) will also receive a financial payment. Currently, the payment structure includes: * $25,000 for an Olympic gold medal by a multiple medalist who meets requirements * $15,000 for an Olympic silver medal by a multiple medalist who meets requirements * $10,000 for an Olympic bronze medal by a multiple medalist who meets requirements * $15,000 for a World gold medal by a multiple medalist who meets requirements * $9,000 for a World gold medal by a multiple medalist in a women's non-Olympic weight who meets requirements * $10,000 for a World silver medal by a multiple medalist who meets requirements * $6,000 for a World silver medal by a multiple medalist in a women's non-Olympic weight who meets requirements * $5,000 for a World bronze medal by a multiple medalist who meets requirements * $3,000 for a World bronze medal by a multiple medalist in a women's non-Olympic weight who meets requirements The amount of funding for these achievements could increase over time as more funds are raised from other private donors for the program. Because she won a World silver medal in a women's Olympic weight class in Azerbaijan, Marano will receive $10,000 from this special private fund. Because he won a World bronze medal in Azerbaijan, Lester will receive $5,000 from this special private fund. Because she won a World bronze medal at a women's Olympic weight class in Azerbaijan, McMann will receive $5,000 from this special private fund. Because she won a World bronze medal at a women's non-Olympic weight class in Azerbaijan, Downing will receive $3,000 from this special private fund. "We are still significantly behind several countries in their level of award money given to their wrestling medalists," said Dziedzic. "It was never our purpose to match that. However, we wish to provide ample reward so the U.S. wrestlers are willing to make the sacrifice in order to win medals for our nation. In the Olympic year, we expect there to be even more funds provided. We believe that keeping our best athletes involved will improve our medal count." This is the third year that this program has been in existence. McMann was the first athlete to receive funding in 2005, when she won a World bronze medal after claiming her Olympic silver medal. In 2006, past Olympic medalists Sammie Henson, in men's freestyle and Patricia Miranda, in women's freestyle, received a multiple medal payment after earning bronze medals at the World Championships. Athletes who have captured one medal during this quadrennium (2005, 2006, 2007) remain eligible if they are able to win an Olympic medal next year. They include * Sammy Henson (San Luis Obispo, Calif./Sunkist Kids) at 55 kg/121 lbs. in men's freestyle * Mike Zadick (Solon, Iowa/Hawkeye WC) at 60 kg/132 lbs. in men's freestyle * Bill Zadick (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC) at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. in men's freestyle * Donny Pritzlaff (Madison, Wis./New York AC) at 74 kg/163 lbs. in men's freestyle * Joe Williams (Ames, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) at 74 kg/163 lbs. in men's freestyle * Daniel Cormier (Stillwater, Okla./Gator WC) at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. in men's freestyle * Tolly Thompson (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) at 120 kg/264.5 pounds in men's freestyle * Sally Roberts (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC) at 59 kg/130 lbs. in women's freestyle * Patricia Miranda (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) at 51 kg/112.25 lbs. in women's freestyle * Iris Smith (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) at 72 kg/158.5 lbs. in women's freestyle * Lindsey Durlacher (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) at 55 kg/121 lbs. in men's Greco-Roman * Joe Warren (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) at 60 kg/132 lbs. in men's Greco-Roman * Brad Vering (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) at 84 kg/185 lbs. in men's Greco-Roman * Brandon Ruiz (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. in men's Greco-Roman. * Dremiel Byers (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. in men's Greco-Roman Also eligible during this quadrennium are these 2004 Olympic medalists: * Stephen Abas (Fresno, Calif./Sunkist Kids) at 55 kg/121 lbs. in men's freestyle * Jamill Kelly (Stillwater, Okla./Gator WC) at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. in men's freestyle * Cael Sanderson (Ames, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) at 85 kg/185 lbs. in men's freestyle * Patricia Miranda (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) at 48 kg/105.5 lbs. in women's freestyle * Sara McMann (Gaffney, S.C./Sunkist Kids) at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. in women's freestyle * Rulon Gardner (Wellsville, Utah/Sunkist Kids) at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. in men's Greco-Roman It is a fact that many of the most successful wrestlers in U.S. history have won multiple World and Olympic medals for the United States. The statistics show that once a wrestler is good enough to win a medal on the world level, the odds are that he or she has a great chance to win another one rather quickly. This project is designed to give our American wrestlers who have won medals an incentive to stay involved in the sport longer, win even more medals for our nation, and have a specific financial reward for being a repeat performer. In addition, these very successful wrestling leaders will also provide counsel to athletes to assist them in transferring their human capital into successful careers outside of wrestling. This will be a mentoring group, available to the athletes as they make choices about their future. The goal is to provide the financial incentive and human support for these athletes to commit to an additional Olympic four-year cycle. Currently, U.S. wrestlers receive financial support from USA Wrestling and the U.S. Olympic Committee based upon performance. This support has allowed more U.S. wrestlers the financial support to continue competing than just a few decades ago. However, this does not match some of the incentives that the wrestlers from other nations receive if they are able to win Olympic gold medals. The trend about multiple medalists has been proven time and time again in international competition. A look at the champions from the 2007 World Championships shows that many of the gold medalists were past World and Olympic medal winners. Of the 21 World Champions in all three styles, 16 are past World or Olympic medalists. An amazing 13 of the 21 World champions were previously a World or Olympic champion, making them a multiple gold medalist. This pattern has been very similar in every World Championships event in recent years. It was a strong year for the United States at the World Championships. The U.S. Greco-Roman Team won the World Team Title for the first time in history, and the U.S. freestyle team placed fourth and the U.S. women's team placed fifth. The USA won a total of seven World medals, and qualified 12 of the 18 weight classes for the 2008 Olympic Games. "The Greco-Roman team performance is the perfect example of what we are trying to do," said Dziedzic. "Because of the effort of this group of experienced athletes, we were able to win our first World Championship. It is encouraging that this program can assist these athletes, all who either train full-time at the U.S. Olympic Training Center or the USOEC at Northern Michigan. By devoting themselves to train full time at one of our training centers they are making sacrifices--delaying their careers and in some cases putting on hold the building their families to train and win medals for the United States." Fundraising for this program continues, with goals of increasing the levels of support available to the multiple-medal winners.