1. Does the title of World Champion still feel strange at all?

Byers: Yes.

2. You decided this year not to wrestle in tournaments like the Dave Schultz Memorial International, yet went on a couple of winter tours. Were you taking breaks?

Byers: I wanted to wrestle in Dave Schultz, but I had just gotten back from the NCO Academy, an Army school in Texas. I wasn't in good enough shape to wrestle in it, so my coaches told me to sit out. It made me hungry again to win. On the next tour, I wasn't in that great of shape either, but in Hungary, I felt like I was back to where I needed to be.

3. The U.S. National Championships are coming up at the start of May. Is this an event you are looking forward to?

Byers: Oh yeah. I am training for it. It's going to be a big one. I think me and Gardner may get to face off again.

4. Does another matchup with Rulon Gardner cross your mind at all, or do you not think about it?

Byers: I don't think about it like that. I think about it as another tough tournament and something that has to happen in order for me to accomplish my goals.

5. Do you feel that a lot of people may not give you the credit you deserve for winning a World title because Rulon was out last year?

Byers: I am sure people will say that. That's fine. To each his own. They can never take that one from me.

6. How much have you or your style of wrestling changed since your last matches with Rulon at the 2001 U.S. World Team Trials?

Byers: I've been able to analyze my wrestling better. I know what to do a lot better. I am not worried about getting as tired. I know what I can do in that last minute of the match, and if I can't do it, I know what I have to switch to. My match strategy has improved and I know myself better.

7. You are a pretty big guy, but at the same time you don't appear that you have to work hard to make weight. Do you think the lighter weight class, 120 kg as opposed to 130 kg, is an advantage to you?

Byers: Definitely. I'm just getting to the point where I have to start cutting. My high-scoring moves work a lot better with my opponents being lighter.

8. At the World Championships last year, you dominated your matches from the clinch. Is that the position you are most comfortable in?

Byers: You've got to have more than one position, but the clinch is very important. I have managed to convince myself that I own it over the past few years. It was a key part in me becoming a World Champion.

9. How much have you improved since winning the World title last year in Moscow?

Byers: I don't think I have.

10. You recently defeated Mijain Lopez of Cuba to win the Pan American Championships title. He had defeated you not too long ago and also owns two wins over Rulon. What did you change the last time you wrestled him to come out on top?

Byers: I changed my stance. We managed to figure out his par terre offense. I stopped him on his feet from pushing as hard as he usually pushes.

11. Why did you join the U.S. Army?

Byers: To help out with home.

12. When signing up for the U.S. Army, was wrestling one of your initiatives?

Byers: No. That's something that happened along the way.

13. What has the Army World-Class Athlete Program meant and done for you?

Byers: It gave me an opportunity and an avenue to pursue a dream. I am surrounded by people that help me make something out of my God-given talents.

14. With the war in Iraq, is it possible that you could be called into duty? If so, are you scared of that at all?

Byers: We, the members of the World Class-Athlete Program, know that we are soldiers first. Should our name be called to meet the needs of the Army, we are prepared to do so. I would be afraid if I wasn't trained the way I have been.

15. How many of your friends have been deployed to help fight in the war? Is that a motivating factor for you as well, knowing that you represent the U.S. Armed Forces when you are on the mat?

Byers: A whole bunch. The majority of my friends at Fort Carson have been deployed. You know it has to be done. This is what we do. It's definitely a motivating factor. They are out there in the fox holes. The least I can do for them is win. My wife has also been called to duty over there, so there is a mix of emotions over here right now.

16. You were recently named the 2002 U.S. Army Athlete of the Year. How proud of a moment was that for you given the great athletes that are involved in the U.S. Army World-Class Athlete Program?

Byers: That's a tremendous honor, mainly because my coach (Shon Lewis) won it in 1993. It puts a little icing on that victory from the World Championships. I am extremely proud of that.

17. Do you have the confidence to defeat Rulon this year, more so than in other years?

Byers: I've had the confidence every time I wrestled him. At this point, it is all about what champion shows up. Looking at the weight class as a whole, we are all pretty good. It is just about who shows up that day.

18. With the past three gold medalists (2000 Olympics and 2001-2002 World Championships) sitting in Colorado Springs, Colo., who is the man to beat at your weight class, you or Rulon?

Byers: For me, he is the man to beat. If I want to get done everything I want to get done, I have to beat him.

19. Were there any wrestlers growing up that you tried to pattern yourself after, or are there any now?

Byers: My hero is Greg Gibson. I would love to be able to wrestle two years longer than he did. He's been doing it a long time. He is just a class act. You hear the stories about him, but the guy is just plain tough.

20. Who is the toughest wrestler you have ever had to face and why?

Byers: Hector Milian of Cuba. Because he is the only wrestler that looked like me. He was the pimp of the sport. He had more moves than any heavyweight out there. He was explosive, sneaky and he was wide.