Puerto Rico's Franklin Gomez blocks a shot attempt during the World Championships. Tony Rotundo photo.

Franklin Gomez’s path to becoming a World silver medalist in freestyle wrestling was not the most conventional.

His introduction to the sport of wrestling came on a basketball court of all places.

Gomez was a 12-year-old kid playing basketball on a playground in Puerto Rico when one of his friends threw a mattress down on the middle of the court.

And challenged Gomez to a wrestling match.

“My friend said, ‘This isn’t the fake wrestling you see on TV. You can’t punch me or kick me or anything like that,’” Gomez said with a laugh. “I had watched The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin on TV, but I had no idea what kind of wrestling this was.”

As you might expect, Gomez’s introduction to wrestling didn’t go well.

“My friend was 50 pounds bigger than me,” Gomez said, “and he crushed me.”

Gomez’s friend invited him to check out a nearby wrestling club in San Juan, and he was immediately hooked.

“It was a really intense and really challenging sport,” Gomez said. “I just fell in love with wrestling. I came from nothing and wrestling has done so much for me.”

Gomez was a fast learner, and became the best wrestler in his country. He would move up as many as three weight classes so he could face stiffer competition in Puerto Rico. Looking for tougher competition and a better opportunity to enhance his education, Gomez came to the U.S. at age 16.

Gomez won USA Wrestling’s Junior Nationals, became an NCAA champion at Michigan State and has now burst onto the scene internationally.

He went 0-1 at the 2010 World Championships for Puerto Rico, but has made a rapid transition to freestyle while training with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club over the past year.

That improvement was evident when the 25-year-old Gomez won a silver medal at 60 kg/132 lbs. at the 2011 World Championships on Sept. 17 in Istanbul, Turkey. Gomez fell to Russian star Besik Kudukhov in the finals of the Worlds. Kudukhov won his fourth straight World title.

“My goal in wrestling was always to wrestle at the World Championships and the Olympics,” Gomez said. “I want to be a World and Olympic champion. I feel very blessed to have that opportunity now.”

Gomez was born in the Dominican Republic. His father died when he was five years old, and he and his mother moved to Puerto Rico.

Gomez decided he wanted to come to the U.S. from Puerto Rico when he was 16 years old, but his mother initially wouldn’t permit him to go.

“My mom was worried about who would take care of me and everything,” he said. “I knew coming to the U.S. would give me better opportunities to pursue my goals in wrestling and in education. I cried to my mom every day for two months. I kept saying, ‘Please mom, let me do this.’ She finally gave in and said yes.”

Gomez spent one year in New Jersey before finishing high school in Brandon, Fla. When he arrived in the U.S., he spoke only Spanish.

“I couldn’t speak the English language at all,” he said. “The only English I knew was from watching shows they had in English in Puerto Rico, like the Cartoon Network. I watched Bugs Bunny and shows like that. It was very hard at first. There were times when I cried and wanted to go home, but I was very determined and eager to learn the language.”

Gomez enrolled at St. Augustine Prep, a private school in New Jersey, when he first came to the U.S.

“I was like an outcast in the middle of nowhere,” he said. “I didn’t understand what a lot of my classmates were saying. It was very frustrating. One time one of my classmates said, ‘Aw, you’re pulling my leg’ and I said, ‘I’m not pulling your leg.’ I didn’t understand sarcasm and when people were joking around because I didn’t know the language.

“One of my first classes, they gave me the book Hamlet to read. It was a struggle. I was so naïve. A lot of times, I would just laugh when people said something because I didn’t understand. Luckily, I had some great teachers who really helped me. The more English I learned, the more excited I got. I began to communicate more. I’m still learning the language.”

Gomez then moved to Florida, and wrestled for legendary coach Russ Cozart at Brandon High School. Gomez placed second behind Henry Cejudo at the 2006 Junior World Team Trials in freestyle. Cejudo went on to win the Olympics in 2008.

Gomez earned a scholarship to Michigan State, where he was a three-time All-American. He also earned a degree in human resources and psychology.

Gomez won an NCAA title in 2009 as a junior at Michigan State before placing third as a senior. Following the 2010 college season, Matt Dernlan recruited him to wrestle freestyle for the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club at Penn State University.

“Franklin epitomizes everything Penn State and the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club wants in their athletes,” Dernlan said. “He breathes, eats and acts like a World champion every day. The way he lives his life and how he carries himself, it’s pretty impressive. He is such a great person. He is very involved with his church, and he has very strong beliefs and convictions. He’s very passionate and takes a lot of pride in representing Puerto Rico.”

Gomez fell short of qualifying for the U.S. World Team Trials in 2010, and elected to wrestle for Puerto Rico at the 2010 World Championships in Moscow, Russia.

“I had just gotten out of college and jumped right into freestyle last year,” Gomez said. “I trained pretty hard, but my body was pretty beat down from the college season. Plus, I wasn’t adjusted to the freestyle rules completely. I was trying to make the U.S. team, but I applied for a wild card for the World Team Trials and didn’t get one. I had an opportunity to wrestle for Puerto Rico at the World Championships. I was really excited to wrestle in the Worlds, but I was still making the transition to freestyle. I had to adjust my mindset to a different set of rules.”

Gomez lost his first match at the 2010 Worlds and fell short of placing. He jumped right back into freestyle competition in the U.S. last season. He placed fifth at the Sunkist Kids International Open last October. He reached the semifinals of the New York AC International in November, but fell short of placing in the top four. He placed third at February’s Dave Schultz Memorial International in Colorado Springs.

“I learned that this is a process,” Gomez said. “That’s why I went to all those tournaments to start the season. I have learned so much with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. Cael Sanderson, Cody Sanderson and Matt Dernlan, they have given me a great training plan. It’s perfect for me. They make sure you are in shape, but make sure you aren’t too worn down where you can’t compete at your best. The coaches here are amazing. They have a great feel for their athletes. They know when to push me and when to back off.”

Gomez said the return to competition this year by Penn State coach Cael Sanderson provided a spark for him. Sanderson, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist, placed fifth at the World Championships after not competing for nearly seven years.

“Cael is such a great wrestler, and he’s so creative out on the mat,” Gomez said. “It was enjoyable and motivating to watch him get back out there. I studied him and learned from him. He is so knowledgeable. Even though he was training, he would take time to watch me and give me pointers.”

Gomez’s improvement was evident earlier this year when he won May’s Pan American Championships in Rionegro, Colombia. Gomez beat Cuba’s Alejandro Valdes en route to the title. Valdes had knocked off past World silver medalist Mike Zadick of the U.S. earlier in the tournament.

“That gave me a big confidence boost,” Gomez said. “I had a big win over the Cuban and that let me know I was on the right track with my training.”

Gomez suffered a setback shortly before the World Championships, while training in Spain. He broke a bone in the knuckle of his right hand.

“It was bad,” Gomez said. “My hand was really swollen and I couldn’t move my fingers. I couldn’t do much over the next month and a half. All I did was run and swim, and drill on the mat. I came out to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and trained with the U.S. team this summer, but I mostly drilled when I was out there. I got a chance to drill with (past Olympic champion) Kendall Cross and (past World champion) Sammie Henson, which was great for me. I wasn’t able to wrestle live much until five days before I left to go overseas for the World Championships.”

Even with the injury, Gomez was confident entering the World Championships.

“My coaches at the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club believed in me,” he said. “They told me I was ready to go out there and win a medal. I was feeling really fresh and I felt unstoppable. A lot of people didn’t expect me to do that well, but I expected to do well.”

Gomez’s hand was still an issue shortly before he stepped on the mat for the Worlds. He said the doctor from Puerto Rico gave him five injections of cortisone in his right hand just 15 minutes before his first match.

“When they gave me the shots, it hurt so bad at first that I was crying. I had tears coming down my face,” Gomez said. “The cortisone did help block the pain, but it had worn off before I wrestled in the finals.”

With Puerto Rico coach Pedro Rojas and Dernlan in his corner, Gomez started a memorable run at the Worlds where he won five straight matches to reach the finals.

His biggest win came when he knocked off Zalimkhan Huseynov of Azerbaijan in the quarterfinals. Huseynov won a World silver medal in 2009 and a World bronze medal in 2010.

Gomez then battled the young Russian star Kudukhov in the finals. Kudukhov entered the match seeking his fourth straight World title after winning in 2007, 2009 and 2010.

The first period ended scoreless and Kudukhov won a ball draw to gain the offensive position in the clinch. The Russian finished with a leg attack where he lifted Gomez and drove him to the mat, and was awarded five points. Kudukhov then scored on a leg attack to prevail 1-0 in the second period.

“I had watched Kudukhov wrestle a couple of times last year at the Worlds,” Gomez said. “He moves really well, like a lot of American wrestlers. He won the ball draw after the first period, and that was big. If I win that, it would have changed everything. He’s obviously a tough wrestler. I got to his legs a couple of times, but I wasn’t able to lock my hands and he was able to defend the shot. I need to wrestle my match the next time and use a different strategy. I thought I wrestled well in that match, but he wrestled better than I did. I would definitely love to wrestle him again. I know I’m going to be even better next time.”

Dernlan said he would like to see a Gomez-Kudukhov rematch.

“If Franklin makes the gains he did this year,” Dernlan said, “we will see a different outcome at the Olympics.”

Dernlan was impressed, but not surprised by Gomez’s performance.

“Franklin has gotten so much better,” Dernlan said. “It wasn’t like we had to change the way he wrestled, we just had to refine the way he wrestles. The kid has so many leg attacks, and he’s so creative and explosive. We concentrated on staying in good position and he’s really improved in that area. We knew when he came to Penn State that he had the ability to win a World title. What he did this year was a testament to Franklin and how hard he’s worked.”

Gomez became the first Puerto Rican wrestler to win a World medal. He also qualified his country for the 2012 London Olympics at 60 kilos.

“I have watched the Olympics on television and I know it’s the biggest event we have in wrestling,” he said. “I am excited to have a chance to wrestle there. I just have to treat it as another big tournament. It will be very challenging, but I think I can do well.”

Gomez, who is a U.S. citizen, said he plans to wrestle through at least 2016. He plans to continue wrestling for Puerto Rico despite more lucrative opportunities with the large bonuses offered by the Living the Dream Medal Fund in the U.S.

“I’m not in this for the money,” Gomez said. “I didn’t get a bonus from Puerto Rico for winning a silver medal at the World Championships. The Nittany Lion Wrestling Club is taking care of me financially. I am in a great situation. I think I’m the luckiest guy in the World. I have a roof over my head and a great place to train at Penn State. I grew up with my mom making minimum wage, so I didn’t have much growing up. I just concentrate on wrestling and I have a great club that supports me so I can do that.”

Gomez traveled to Puerto Rico following the Worlds, where he was honored by the Puerto Rican Olympic Committee. He also did interviews with a handful of television stations and numerous other media in the country. 

“Wrestling for Puerto Rico is something I want to do because I grew up there,” he said. “The U.S. has had a lot of World champions and Olympic champions. Nobody from Puerto Rico has ever done that. I can make a bigger impact there and inspire a lot of people in that country. My message to the people there is all things are possible if you have faith in God and have discipline and dedication. It is a small island and there is a lot of crime there. I told the kids in Puerto Rico to stay in school, and get involved in sports and their church. I’m very proud to accomplish what I did and proud to share it with the people in Puerto Rico. I hope it provides motivation for them.”

Gomez just started work on a master’s degree in business administration. He is taking online classes at Walden University.

The night he won a World silver medal, Gomez went out for dinner before firing up his computer at his hotel in Turkey.

“I had to finish an assignment for one of my master’s classes,” Gomez said. “I had to write an essay, and I finally got it done around midnight. I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open.”

Gomez plans to wrestle at next month’s Pan American Games in Mexico.

“Franklin is excited and hungry to get back out there and compete,” said Dernlan, now the head college coach at Clarion. “The day after he lost to Kudukhov, we were already talking about the adjustments he needs to make against him. Franklin has a great attitude. He’s a special kid who is going to keep getting better and better.”