Henry Cejudo won the Sunkist Kids International title in October. Larry Slater photo.

It is hard to believe it has already been almost four years since Henry Cejudo became the youngest Olympic wrestling champion in U.S. history at age 21.

Now 25, and having wrestled in only two tournaments since striking Olympic gold in Beijing, China, Cejudo said he is ready to make a run at duplicating his magical run of 2008.

Cejudo will take aim at winning a freestyle title at 55 kg/121 lbs. at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, set for April 21-22 at Iowa City’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“I feel good,” Cejudo said Friday. “I’m ready and I’m excited. I haven’t been this motivated in a long time. This is the last time I will ever wrestle on American soil.”

Cejudo stepped away from wrestling after 2008 before returning to the mat and resuming training in early 2011.

He competed in two events near the start of this season. He won the Sunkist Kids International Open in October before placing second at November’s Henri Deglane Challenge in France. He lost in the finals to 2003 World silver medalist Ghenadi Tulbea of Monaco.

“I learned a lot from those tournaments,” he said. “It was a good experience. I learned where I had flaws and I learned from my mistakes.”

Cejudo has spent the past four months training in Phoenix, the city he grew up in. He has brought in training partners like past World Team member Shawn Bunch and his older brother, Angel, to practice with. He also has worked closely with his trainer, Brian Davis, to prepare for the Trials.

“I’m extremely strong and extremely fast,” he said. “I’m stronger than I’ve ever been and I have my weight under control. I’m ready to go. I’m extremely confident.”

Cejudo said he has a different motivation now than he did four years ago.

“Do I need a comeback? No,” Cejudo said. “I’ve already won the Olympics. Winning an Olympic medal doesn’t make me great. What’s going to make me great is what I’m going to do with an Olympic gold medal that makes a difference. I want to inspire others to be the best by sharing my story with them. That’s my purpose and my passion. I want to show people how good life is and let them know you can accomplish anything despite the circumstances.”

Cejudo is in a weight class that traditionally is one of the toughest in the U.S. This year is no exception with Nick Simmons expected to be the No. 1 seed at 55 kilos for the Trials. Simmons placed fifth at the 2011 World Championships.

Simmons is ranked No. 1 in the U.S. at 55 kilos, followed by Angel Escobedo, Sam Hazewinkel, Obe Blanc, Cejudo and Danny Felix. Escobedo is a past NCAA champion and Junior World Team member. Hazewinkel was second to Simmons at the 2011 World Team Trials. Blanc and Felix are past World Team members. Cejudo beat Felix in the Sunkist finals this season.

“It will be a tough tournament – the weight class is very tough,” Cejudo said. “If I lose, I will accept it. But if I do lose, the guy who beats me has to have trained his butt off and wrestled really well to beat me. I’m not afraid to fail. I’m the underdog, but I know I am ready to compete with anybody.”

Just three wrestlers in U.S. history – George Mehnert (1904, 1908), Bruce Baumgartner (1984, 1992) and John Smith (1988, 1992) – have won two Olympic titles in wrestling.

“I am aware of that, and I would like a chance to do that,” Cejudo said. “Let’s get through Step No. 1 first, which is the Olympic Trials.” 

Cejudo said he is looking forward to competing in front of a huge crowd in Iowa City. More than 11,000 tickets have been sold for the event.

“I think it’s great that they are having the Trials in Iowa,” he said. “They obviously love wrestling. It’s very exciting to have all these fans coming out to watch us compete.”

So can Cejudo duplicate what he did in 2008?

“Absolutely, I think I can do what I did in 2008,” he said. “I’ve dealt with adversity my whole life and this is another big challenge for me. But years like these, this is where dreams are made.”