2000 Olympic champion Rulon Gardner (Cascade, Colo./Sunkist Kids) has some extra motivation to do well at the 2003 Titan Games this weekend. Gardner will have an opportunity to avenge his first loss since his comeback from frostbite injuries.    Yesterday, Feb. 9, at the Dave Schultz Memorial International Tournament in Colorado Springs, Colo., Gardner was upset in the Greco-Roman gold-medal finals at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. by talented young Cuban star Mijian Lopez.     Lopez is one of the athletes the Gardner is scheduled to face at the 2003 Titan Games: The Road to Athens, Feb. 14-15 in San Jose, Calif.    "I am excited about it," said Gardner. "I am hoping to get over this little cold I have had for a few days. I have four days to get ready for Lopez now. I have to watch videotape and learn and realize what I did wrong."    The Rulon Gardner story is well-known and continues to evolve. Gardner won a gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games, perhaps the biggest upset in sports history, when he defeated the previously unbeaten and three-time Olympic champion Alexander Kareline of Russia. One year later, the popular Gardner followed up his success with a World gold medal, becoming the first American Greco-Roman athlete to win two World-level golds.    Last winter, Gardner was lost overnight in the freezing snow of the Wyoming mountains. When he was found the next morning, his life was in jeopardy. Doctors quickly discovered he had severe frostbite on his feet, and his future as an athlete was in peril. Ultimately, Gardner made a remarkable recovery, losing one toe to amputation, but returning in less than a year to the wrestling mats.    Gardner has won all of his matches since his return this fall, claiming victories at the Kurt Angle Classic and the Concord Cup. However, after winning four matches to make the finals of the Dave Schultz International Tournament at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, Gardner tasted his first defeat in two years.    In the finals match, Lopez scored a takedown on Gardner, and followed it up with a two-point gutwrench in the first period for the only points in the bout. Gardner battled aggressively in the second period, but the Cuban held his defense, and Lopez won 3-0.    Lopez is a talented young athlete who has taken over the Cuban heavyweight spot after the retirement of Olympic champion and Greco-Roman legend Hector Millian. Lopez placed sixth in the 2002 World Championships and was a 2002 Pan American Championships gold medalist.    There was a bit of controversy in the bout. On the two-point gut wrench, Gardner and his coaches believed he blocked the move in a way that it should have only been worth one point. In international wrestling, an athlete must score three points to win. Had the call been for one point, the match would have gone into overtime. In addition, on the Lopez takedown, Gardner believes that Lopez brushed him with his leg during the move. It is forbidden to use or touch the legs in Greco-Roman wrestling.    Gardner did not use these as excuses for his loss. "I'm going right back to work," he told the Colorado Springs Gazette. "I am greatly disappointed but I have to come back and learn from it."    Lopez was also humble about his surprise victory. "I'm really happy to have the chance to wrestle someone of his stature," Lopez told the Colorado Springs Gazette. "I knew about his gold medals, but I approached this the same as any other match - to go out and do my best. I don't know, maybe he was not fully recovered (from severe frostbite and the loss of a toe last winter), but it was a very good match."    Gardner spent time on Monday with National Greco-Roman Coach Steve Fraser, watching the tape of his match with Lopez. They were getting prepared for the re-match in San Jose.    "I have seen him now," said Gardner. "He's pretty smooth. I have to stop his gutwrench."    Coach Fraser has given Gardner some advice that could make a difference in the revenge match.    "Rulon needs to battle him like he knows how to," said Fraser. "When Rulon gets physical and rough, and turns on the burners, they break. He has to play this same game with the Cuban Lopez. Rulon also needs to wrestle a little lighter on his feet. Lopez scored on him when Rulon was pushing in. If Rulon is a little lighter, more fluent and agile, he will not make the same mistake against Lopez."    The Gardner/Lopez showdown will happen when the United States battles Cuba in the Titan Games on Friday, Feb. 14, at the 7:00 p.m. session. It will be the first match of the event for the Americans, who will also battle a Russian team on Saturday night. The wrestling team will feature men's freestyle, men's Greco-Roman and women's freestyle athletes.    The Titan Games will provide a major test for U.S. Olympic hopefuls, as the world's best get set to compete in the mini-sport festival with a multi-sport format. The Road To Athens for America's elite boxers, fencers, shot putters, wrestlers, weightlifters and judo, taekwondo and karate athletes matches them up with the world's powers in each of these respective sports.    Developed by the USOC in partnership with the affiliated National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and hosted by the San Jose Sports Authority and the City of San Jose, 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.    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.