Gardner, Guerrero wrestling clinic in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Jan.16 as part of Titan Games p
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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
01/15/2003
Olympic champion Rulon Gardner and U.S. World Team member Eric Guerrero will provide a wrestling clinic in San Jose, Calif as part of the promotional activities for the upcoming Titan Games. The clinic will be at Independence High School in San Jose, where Guerrero was a three-time California state high school champion and one of the greatest prep wrestlers in California history. The wrestling demonstration will be provided to high school, junior high school and yout wrestlers in the area. The clinic will be held Thursday, January 16 from 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Athlete autographs and Titan Games tickets sales will be available. The address for Independence High School is 1776 Educational Park Drive, San Jose, CA 95133 (off McKee exit on 680 and on the corner of McKee/Jackson). For more information, contact the San Jose Sports Authority at 408/288-2932. The 2003 Titan Games will be held Feb. 14-15 in San Jose, Calif. America's elite boxers, fencers, shot putters, wrestlers, weightlifters and judo, taekwondo and karate athletes match up with the world's powers in each of these respective sports. In the wrestling portion of the event, men's freestyle, men's Greco-Roman and women's freestyle will be conducted. The Titan Games will feature a "USA versus the World" format in dual and triangular meets. The Titan Games venue will accommodate four platforms with competition continuously happening on at least three platforms. The event's format is the first of its kind and will be staged over three finals-only format sessions at the 5,000 seat Event Center at San Jose State University. Team and individual winners will be named by sport and weight classification, with the honor of "Ultimate Titan" up for grabs. The two international teams scheduled to compete against the USA in wrestling at the Titan Games are Russia and Cuba. Russia is traditionally the world's top wrestling nation, and a long-time archrival of the talented U.S. team. Cuba, a major World and Pan American power, has also been outstanding in both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. Gardner was the 2000 Olympic champion at 130 kg in Greco-Roman wrestling, defeating undefeated three-time Olympic champion Alexander Karelin of Russia in the finals. Gardner followed that triumph with a gold medal at the 2001 World Championships, becoming the first U.S. wrestler to win two career World-level Greco-Roman titles. Guerrero was a three-time NCAA champion for Oklahoma State Univ. He was a member of three U.S. World Teams, including a seventh-place finish at the 1999 World Championships. He won U.S. Nationals freestyle titles in 2001 and 2002. Gardner and Guerrero will conduct a "Countdown to the Titan Games" press conference while in San Jose on Thursday at noon. The press conference will be at the Event Center at San Jose State University in San Jose, Calif., the venue that will host the Titan Games. Media planning to attend should RSVP to Daphne Mayer, San Jose Sports Authority, at 408-288-2937 or daphne@sjsa.org. Tickets to this can't-miss event are already on sale at www.ticketmaster.com or through the participating National Governing Bodies (including California USA Wrestling). Tickets will also be available at all San Jose Ticketmaster locations beginning January 16.