You'd think something like being a past Olympian would give an athlete some extra respect in a sport like wrestling. However, those who have reached the dream of representing the United States at an Olympic Games still have to train hard and fight for position, or they can quickly slide from the limelight.    The Greco-Roman Challenge Tournament at the World Team Trials featured a number of past Olympians at various stages of their careers. None of the athletes in this portion of the tournament were able to win a U.S. Nationals title this year. In order to remain on top of the ladder, they must win a two-day tournament, just to reach the finals against the reigning national champion.    At 119 pounds, three past Olympians were entered in the Challenge Tournament: 1988 and 1992 Olympian Shawn Sheldon, 1996 Olympic silver medalist Brandon Paulson and 2000 Olympian Steven Mays. Only one of these athletes has a chance to move out of the challenge tournament to face 2000 national champion Jeff Cervone.    The semifinals of the Challenge Tournament saw Paulson battle Mays. Just a year ago, this was the finals of the 2000 Olympic Team Trials, with Mays edging Paulson and earning the trip to the Sydney Games. This year, it was a first-round match, with the reward being the right to continue to wrestle tomorrow.    From the get-go, it was all Paulson, who scored a three-point throw and a one-point counter for a 4-0 lead at mid-point. Two more points in the final minute of the second period gave Paulson a 6-0 victory, a reversal from last year's Olympic finals.    "I'm glad I came back," said Paulson. "I wanted another chance at him. I didn't know we were wrestling today, so I was relaxed last night and this morning. I just wrestled and had fun."    "I never had somebody like Mays in the first round of a tournament," said Paulson. "Every Olympian since 1988 is here."    On another mat, at the same time, Sheldon had to work hard for a 3-2 win over young Joe Espinoza. Sheldon earned the right to battle Paulson in the finals, a rematch of the Olympic Team Trials in 1996, won by Paulson.    "I think this is the tournament to send me back to New York for the World Championships," said Sheldon, an Albany, N.Y. native seeking to go home once again. "I've worked hard for this. Whatever happens, happens and was meant to be."    The Paulson/Sheldon showdown has both wrestlers looking forward to Saturday's Challenge Tournament finals.    "Now I have another battle with Sheldon," said Paulson. "We've wrestled about 10 times, and we are 5-5. This will be the rubber match."    "It is going to be about who is better prepared and who has a better match," said Sheldon. "It's always a battle. I'm feeling in better condition than I was at the nationals this year, and my legs are a lot stronger."    It seemed like everywhere you looked, an Olympian was on the mat. And in some cases, it was the Olympian who watched at the end as his opponent had his arm raised in victory.    Consider David Zuniga, the 1996 Olympian, who like Paulson, decided to give it another try this year after missing out for the 2000 Olympic team. Zuniga went 0-2 on the day at 152 pounds, losing bouts to Keith Wilson and Herb House.    Then there was Quincey Clark, the 2000 Olympian at 187.25 pounds, who lost a close controversial match in the U.S. Nationals finals to fellow 2000 Olympian Matt Lindland  in April, which placed him in the challenge tournament.     In the semifinals, Clark met Ethan Bosch, the man he defeated in the Olympic Trials finals in Dallas last year to earn the trip to Sydney. This time, it was Bosch who dominated, using a patented front headlock for a quick 6-0 lead. Bosch scored a first period technical fall win, putting Clark back on the sidelines with a number of other past Olympians.    "I look at it as just another match," said Bosch. "You have to at this level. I've wrestled Quincey since the trials on an overseas tour. You just can't think of it as anything than another match."    Bosch was still thinking of his loss to Olympian Matt Lindland in the U.S. Nationals finals, jumping to an 8-0 lead, then losing on an amazing Lindland comeback, 11-8.    "What was going through my mind was getting a 8-0 lead on Lindland and blowing it" said Bosch. "I couldn't let that happen again. This was the same thing. This time, I learned from my mistakes."    Not every past Olympian was knocked aside by the tides of change. Dan Henderson, a member of both the 1988 and 1992 Olympic teams, continued to remain a serious contender. He won two matches, and has earned the right to battle Bosch in the Challenge Tournament finals on Saturday morning.    2000 Olympian James Gruenwald looked dominant at 127.75 pounds, scoring a semifinal technical fall over Lindsay Durlacher, 12-1. Gruenwald wants another shot at two-time Olympian Dennis Hall, who beat him in the U.S. Nationals finals this year. Hall is sitting in the stands, waiting for the winner of the Challenge Tournament for Sunday's final series.    Sometimes change is not good for Olympians. Heath Sims, the 2000 Olympian at 152 pounds, moved up to 167.5 pounds this year. He won his first match, but was then defeated in the semifinals round by talented veteran T.C. Dantzler, 6-1, ending Sims hopes to compete in New York this summer.    Everybody remains amazed by the story of 1984 Olympic silver medalist Greg Gibson, the ageless 47-year-old who refuses to stop wrestling at an elite level. Gibson won his first match to qualify for the Challenge Tournament semifinals, where he was stopped by U.S. Nationals runner-up Jason Loukides, 4-0.    The Greco-Roman event continues on Saturday, with the Challenge Tournament finals. The winners of the Challenge Tournament in each weight class move on the Championship Series on Sunday, where they face the 2001 U.S. Nationals champion in a best-of-three series for a spot on the U.S. team that will compete in Madison Square Garden.    GRECO-ROMAN CHALLENGE TOURNAMENT FINALS MATCHUPS  119 - Shawn Sheldon, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC) vs. Brandon Paulson, Golden Valley, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)  127.75 - James Gruenwald, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids) vs. Duaine Martin, Quantico, Va. (U.S. Marines)  138.75 - Glenn Garrison, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army) vs. Glenn Nieradka, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army)  152 - Keith Wilson, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army) vs. Oscar Wood, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army)  167.5 - T.C. Dantzler, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC) vs. Dan Niebuhr, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)   187.25  - Ethan Bosch, Colorado Springs, (NYAC) vs. Dan Henderson, Gresham, Ore. (Dave Schultz WC)   213.75  - Jason Loukides, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army) vs. Al Sankey, Quantico, Va. (U.S. Marines)   286  - Dremiel Byers, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army) vs. Corey Farkas, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Air Force)