USA Wrestling hosted a special celebration announcing a new affiliation with the Jason Foundation to prevent youth suicide, at a public activity prior to the semifinals at the NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis, Mo., March 19.    As part of the function, NASA astronaut Ed Lu, a college wrestler at Cornell and a former wrestling coach, showed a visual presentation about his experiences in space and answered questions about his life as an astronaut.    The celebration was moderated by Leslie Levin of Behavioral Health Response, who explained the problem of youth suicide in our nation.    "We believe that the most effective way to lower the suicide rate is education. USA Wrestling and the Jason Foundation are working together on this important issue," said Levin.    1992 Olympic head coach Bobby Douglas of Ames, Iowa, a two-time Olympic athlete who currently works as the wrestling coach at Iowa State Univ., is the chairperson of USA Wrestling's Jason Foundation Committee.    "It was a Friday night in 1991," said Douglas. "At 11:03, I got a telephone call. The party on the other end said, 'Janisse killed himself."    Douglas told the story of Bobby Janisse, one of his wrestlers at Arizona State. It was a phone call that changed Douglas' life forever.    "Bobby seemed like he never had a problem," said Douglas. "He was from a black middle class family in Portland, Ore. He was a jovial kid. I have never gotten over that phone call."    "When I learned about the Jason Foundation, I jumped at it," he continued. "This is a major problem. Coaches, teachers and athletes make a difference. My goal is to get suicide prevention working through wrestling. Our future is our kids. Let's keep them alive."    Clark Flatt, the CEO of the Jason Foundation, gave information about the organization and explained some of the shocking statistics concerning youth suicide.    "I lost my youngest son Jason," said Flatt. "He was 16 years old. He was a B student. He played sports. He had a lot of friends. I found out that he had taken my 38 caliber pistol, placed it to his head and pulled the trigger."    Flatt explained how he learned about USA Wrestling and became excited about working with the organization.    "I found out that you have 158,000 members, which excited me," he said. "And what a passion they have, to their sport, their community, their lives. I believe that because we are working together, we will save a lot of people's lives we would have never reached before."    USA Wrestling President Stan Dziedzic echoed Flatt's sentiments on behalf of the sport.    "This represents a special opportunity for USA Wrestling to announce our affiliation with the Jason Foundation. They are the leaders in preventing youth suicide. The virtues of our sport goes well with the mission of the Jason Foundation."    After the announcement of the suicide prevention program, Dziedzic introduced Ed Lu, the NASA astronaut, who gave a stirring slideshow about his travel in space, and his experiences with wrestling.    After the announcement of the suicide prevention program, Dziedzic introduced Ed Lu, the NASA astronaut, who gave a stirring slideshow about his travel in space, and his experiences with wrestling.    "I wanted to talk about the space program and its connection to the sport of wrestling," said Lu. "I started noting around the office that there were a lot of wrestlers there. There are about 80 astronauts, and 12 were wrestling, five of which have been coaches."    "Why is that? It is about what wrestling teaches you. It is an attitude, an attitude of hard work and effort," he said.    Lu explained the feeling of a takeoff in a spacecraft, as being like a "very huge person who lifts you and takes you into space." He noted that "the ride is unbelievable and the view is good too."    Lu noted that his most recent assignment was flying a Soyuz spacecraft with Russian astronaut and spending six months on the international space station.    "We are working with the Russians, our former enemies," said Lu. "They are now our friends. I got to go to Russia, learn the language and fly one of their ships."    After the presentation, Lu took questions and answers. In discussing the experience with Russia, he noted that wrestling legend Dave Schultz had learned Russian in order to communicate with them and learn more about their wrestling. He also said that in space, with a Russian cosmonaut who spoke English, they communicated in what they called "Ringlish," where they often combined both languages when neccessary.    "The inside of the space suit is pressurized," said Lu. "The suit stiffens up. It is like about a six hour wrestling match.You have to lift weights. You have a lot of preparation."    He noted that the last seven or eight space crews included wrestlers. He also noted that dealing with zero gravity was helped by the experience of wrestling.    "There is no upside down or rightside up, and all you do is fly," said Lu. "You have to think about where things are when you try to move around. Wrestlers are good with that. The experience of rolling on the mats helps you in space."    He noted the grueling workout schedule that he had endured in order to stay healthy while being in space for six months. Lu talked about the atrophy that occurs after an athletic injury, and said that being in space does that to  humans naturally. "There would be no way to walk after six months in space if you did not exercise," he noted.    Lu explained that those who have been in space for long periods of time have suffered bone loss, up to 20%, similar to losing bone mass with osteoperosis. "We found that they same thing that prevents bone loss on the ground and in space is exercise."    Lu showed slides of the weight lifting machine and treadmill that he worked out on daily during his six month trip to the International Space Station. He said he "got to hate those machines." But once again, his wrestling experience helped in dealing with it. "The wrestling paid off. What you learn about working out can help you in space."    Lu was able to complete his mission with no bone loss and just some slight muscle loss. He was one of only two astronauts to avoid losing the bone mass from a space trip. He noted that he had a one dollar bet with a colleague about losing he least amount, something that ended up as a tie. He also showed a picture of a stationary bike they rode, "where if you ride the bike for 90 minutes you actually ride around the earth once."    He also talked about a favorite wrestling subject, food.    "We learned that keeping strength up is keeping your weight up," said Lu. "Without regular exercise, your appetite goes down. I did not lose much weight. As a wrestler, eating is not a problem. Most of the food comes in cans and packages, and it's really not that bad."    Lu explained the beauty of space, and showed some of his favorite pictures. He describes looking down at the earth. He described the view of the stars in space.     "This is where we are going," said Lu, showing a picture of the moon and discussing President Bush's new space initiative. "We are capable of doing this. I'd like to walk on the moon. I hope I get that chance."    To close his slide show, he showed a picture of all 12 astronauts from NASA who were wrestlers. He also noted that many of the Russian cosmonauts are wrestlers. "It's an international thing," he said.    Prior to the 2003 World Wrestling Championships in Madison Square Garden in New York City, Ed Lu taped a message from space to be shown at the competition.     "Doing the greeting for the World Championships was a real honor for me," said Lu. "Wrestling was a major part of my life. I'd like to give back."