Ben Provisor celebrates after securing his spot on the Olympic Team. Larry Slater photo.

It still hasn’t quite registered with him yet that he’s an Olympian, and that feeling might not go away anytime soon. Ben Provisor, like many wrestlers, have worked toward being an Olympian their whole life. After winning the Greco-Roman U.S. Olympic Team Trials at 74 kg/163 lbs., Provisor is on his way to London, ready or not.

“For 16 years of my life, it’s been all wrestling and it paid off,” Provisor said. “People keep asking me how does it feel to be an Olympian and I don’t think that I really know what that is yet. Maybe once I get to the Opening Ceremonies and actually feel that I’m there, then it might hit me.”

Provisor defeated Aaron Sieracki in the final two matches of a best-of- three Championship series at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Iowa City, Iowa in April. Although Provisor dropped the first match 1-0, 0-1, 2-0, he says he felt confident going into the second match.

“It was weird. In the finals, after I lost the first match, I don’t know what it was but I felt really good after I lost,” Provisor said. “I don’t understand why but I just kind of felt in the zone.”

After dropping that first match, Provisor was indeed in the “zone,” winning the second match 2-0, 1-0. Although Sieracki would push the final match to three periods, Provisor was able to win that final period, punching his ticket to London. 

Although Provisor is on his way to London now, when he first started wrestling as a toddler, that thought might not have been a possibility. Provisor’s first experiences with the sport weren’t too exciting and could have easily deterred the youngster. 

“I didn’t really like it right away, I was always getting my butt kicked,” Provisor said. “I didn’t enjoy that part. But I’m really competitive, so I stayed in it.”

One of Provisor’s early role models and mentors was 1995 World champion and 1996 Olympic silver medalist Dennis Hall, who coached in their hometown of Stevens Point, Wis. Hall taught Provisor to love Greco-Roman wrestling, and also helped him develop the toughness necessary to succeed at a high level. 

Provisor’s love for the physicality of Greco-Roman led him to the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., in 2010, after a brief stint at University of Northern Michigan’s U.S. Olympic Education Center.

“I graduated high school and went right to Northern Michigan’s Education Center. All of the guys I wanted to train with, a lot of my partners were leaving so I chose to leave too,” Provisor said of his decision to leave UNM. “Everybody moved to the OTC, Chas Betts, Andy Bisek and Jake Fisher. All of them came to Colorado Springs, so if I wanted to get good training with a good partner, I had to move too.”

The structured environment of the USOTC has endless resources for an athlete aspiring for the Olympics. Surrounded by athletes with the same goal in mind, the USOTC provides Provisor with exceptional competition each day, access to the nutritionists and sports medicine facilities, all in the confines of his back yard. 

Another big decision for Provisor that paid dividends was his decision to move up a weight class from 74 kg/ 163 lbs. to 84 kg/185 lbs. Provisor missed making weight at the Junior World Championships during his senior year of high school and decided it would be wise to go up a weight class for some time. However, Provisor realized he wasn’t meant to compete at the higher weight class, and went back to 74 kg.

“I couldn’t gain any more weight and it seemed like the guys at 84 kg were too big and strong for me, so I decided around Christmas and New Year, 2011 to go down,” Provisor said. “I got on a better diet and it paid off. I won the U.S. Open that year, and now the Olympic Trials.”

Provisor credits a lot of his recent success to that year he decided to wrestle up a weight class. Instead of worrying about his weight, he could focus solely on improving his wrestling. 

“This year he has matured and improved on his feet,” Greco-Roman National Team Coach Steve Fraser said. “He still needs to keep improving but I think that is an area he’s gotten better. And when I say he’s matured, I mean in his training. He works hard and is pretty coachable.”

Fraser also added that Provisor is very strong in the par terre position against his fellow Americans, both offensively and defensively.

But Provisor won’t be wrestling Americans at the Olympics. He knows he must be fully focused on the task at hand in order to achieve his goal.

“I want to win gold, that’s the only real goal that is going to be on my mind,” Provisor said. “Everything from my nutrition to my training and mental preparation, that is all I’m focusing on. I’m just thinking about winning gold and doing the best thing for my body every day.”

Provisor will be among the six U.S. Greco-Roman wrestlers to head to London, a team split between veterans and rookies when it comes to experience on the bigger stage. Fraser hopes his three veterans will be able to help the three younger wrestlers and provide leadership for them on their path to reaching the podium. 

“We have a good team,” Fraser said. “Dremiel Byers and Justin Lester have already proven they can win medals; they know what it’s all about, and they’ve been to the big show before. And Spenser Mango has been there enough times, he’s due to win a medal. So I feel good about those guys and hopefully they can lead our younger guys to success.”