COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.- Like all Olympic hopefuls, R.C. Johnson has his sights set on making the United States Olympic Team for this summer’s games in London. Johnson and the rest of Team USA are diligently preparing for the Olympic qualifying tournaments with today’s Kiki Cup tournament.

“I think events like this are great. It’s always nice to bring in foreign team and to get a chance to wrestle foreign guys because that’s what is important,” Johnson said after finishing 3-0 on Saturday. “We all want to make the Olympic Team, that’s what is most important right now. In the big scheme of things, we have to make the Olympic Team and bring those medals home to the U.S. and the only way we are going to do that is by getting exposure internationally."

The 2011 U.S. Open champion, Johnson defeated all three of his Greco-Roman opponents in the Kiki Cup, beating Italy’s Beniamino Scibilia, India’s Ashok Kumar and Greece's Georgios Koutsioumpas.

“I feel I did well today, but it’s easy to say you did well when you win them all,” Johnson said. “There are some things I need to work on when we get back into the room and make some small adjustments because you’ve got to get a little better every day. Everybody is trying to get better and I’ve got to make sure I keep up.”

Competing at 96 kg/211.5 lbs., Johnson was a U.S. World Team member in 2009 and traveled to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics as a training partner for Adam Wheeler. He is focused on trying to be the U.S. representative instead of a spectator in 2012.

“To be the Olympian and represent the U.S. would mean a lot,” Johnson said. "It would be the culmination of my career. I think that is what we are all here for and if you don’t want to make the Olympic team, then you’ve got to find another line of work.” 

Like many of the other Greco-Roman classes for the U.S., Johnson’s weight class has yet to qualify for the Olympic Games.

“We’ve just got to get the job done. I don’t think there is any kind of special mentality we have now that is different from any other time,” Johnson said. “When it comes down to it, you either qualify the weight class or you don’t. We all want to make sure we get the classes qualified for a team at the Games and we can do our best once we get there.”

Team USA and Johnson will have a chance to qualify the remaining six weight classes at the Pan American Olympic Qualifier in March.

Johnson, who is pursing a Doctorate in computer science at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, understands it isn’t an easy road to London and everyone is shooting for the same goal.

“I think that’s why we are all here, to go to the Olympics,” said Johnson. “Everybody wants to go, everybody wants that medal and to get on that Olympic podium. To see the American flag raised, it’s a dream of a lifetime.”