CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Harry Lester has captivated American fans with his exciting, explosive, in-your-face style in Greco-Roman wrestling.

The three-time U.S. World Team member from Akron, Ohio, has won a bronze medal at the last two World Championships. He is the favorite to make the U.S. Olympic Team at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. and plans to compete at the U.S. Nationals on April 23-26 in Las Vegas.

Lester was a special guest of USA Wrestling at the UNI-Dome on Sunday for the ASICS/USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals. He presented awards and signed autographs during the final day of the three-day event on Sunday.

Lester sat down for a short interview with USA Wrestling's Craig Sesker on Sunday morning.

You wrestled well at the Dave Schultz Memorial International and just competed overseas recently. What is next for you on your schedule?

I am definitely going to wrestle at the U.S. Nationals this year. It's obviously a real important event to set you up for the Olympic Trials. I was MIA, and I didn't wrestle in Nationals the last two years, but I will be there this year. I am excited about getting back on the mat and competing at 66 kilos again.

We're just four months away from the Olympics and a lot of hype for the Games in Beijing, China, has already started. What is it like to hear all the talk about the Olympics?

It's definitely exciting. Every time I walk through the airport with a Team USA jacket on, people will come up to me and ask me about the Olympics and they ask me if I'm going to be there. I tell them I am going to work my hardest and do everything I can to get there. To be just a few months away from the Olympics, I'm so anxious right now. I'm so ready to go.

The U.S. Greco-Roman Team recently received their rings from winning the team title at the 2007 World Championships. What was it like to receive that?

John Bardis, our Team Leader at the World Championships, bought us the rings. John is an unbelievable guy who has a tremendous love for this sport. And he really has a love for USA Wrestling. These rings are just unbelievable. I hate wearing rings, I hate wearing them with a passion, but I have a hard time taking this one off. The ring is humongous. It's almost as big as two of my fingers put together. It just shows all the hard work we put in. It's great for John to step up and contribute something like this and let us know somebody is thinking about us.

How cool will it be to show your ring to the young wrestlers who are competing here today?

I hope it inspires some of these kids and gives them something to look forward to. It will let them know that something really big can come out of wrestling.

How is your training progressing at Northern Michigan?

It's going great. Ivan (Ivanov) is a great coach and he always has us prepared for big events. Everybody is starting to peak now and we're real excited about some of the events we have coming up. We're all training hard. I've honestly never felt better than this at this time of the year. I feel awesome - physically, mentally, everything. I can't wait to get back on the mat at Nationals.

You lost a controversial match in the semifinals of the 2007 World Championships to the eventual champion from Azerbaijan on his home mat in Azerbaijan. If you're on your game, how tough will it be for someone to beat you this year?

I don't think anybody can beat me if I show up and wrestle every second of the match. In that match against the Azerbaijan guy, maybe I should've wrestled harder and not let the ref take the match out of my hands. My confidence is very high. If I wrestle my match, nobody is going to beat me.

Being on a World Championship team, how much has it helped Greco-Roman wrestling in the U.S.?

Greco-Roman wrestling in the U.S. has always kind of been the little brother behind freestyle. After we won the team title, a lot of people have really started to notice Greco-Roman wrestling and how hard we've worked. We've had two really good years back-to-back in Greco and I think we're going to stay dominant as one of the best teams in the World for a while.

Growing up in Ohio, what are your first memories of the Olympics?

I remember reading about the Olympics in books growing up. My first encounter with the Olympics was probably a poster I saw that had Kevin Jackson, Dennis Hall and Garth Brooks on it. It was pretty cool to see wrestlers on a poster with this big country music star like Garth Brooks. That was one of my first-ever visual impressions of the Olympics. Growing up in Ohio, I always heard about the great Lee Kemp and how he didn't get his shot in the (1980) Olympics. And I learned about how Dan Gable basically destroyed everybody at the 1972 Olympics. Hearing about those guys was definitely inspiring.

What is your plan as far as possibly competing after 2008?

I am just going to take it day-by-day and I will evaluate it after this year. All my focus is on this year and winning the Olympics. I will just go where life takes me. If it takes me back on the mat, I will be back on the mat. I'm just looking forward to what happens in 2008.