Photos of Iraqi wrestlers arrival  Two Greco-Roman wrestlers and a coach from Iraq have arrived in Colorado Springs, Colo. at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) for an extended time to train with USA Wrestling's national Greco-Roman team.    Coach Jamal Hasson and athletes Muhammed Mohammed (55 kg/121 lbs.) and Ali Salman (96 kg/211.5 lbs.) arrived at the USOTC at noon on Saturday, and were featured at a press conference a few hours later.     At the press conference, the Iraqis thanked everybody for the opportunity to train in the United States and to help them to achieve their Olympic dreams. Under questioning from the media, Coach Hasson also told the story about how he had been imprisoned for 35 days under the regime of Saddam Hussein after the wrestling team had a poor performance at an international competition. It was an emotional and compelling day of international goodwill through sports.    "This is the dream of any athlete, to come to America to get this level of training," said Coach Hasson. "It is truly a dream."    Bringing the Iraq wrestling delegation to the United States was a joint effort of many organizations, working together at different levels for many months. Involved in the effort were the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Solidarity Department, the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Olympic Council of Asia and the United Nations Development Program.     The Iraq delegation was actually a more than 12 hours late in their arrival in Colorado. The team touched down in New York City on Friday night. A delay in their processing through customs, reportedly from a computer glitch, caused them to miss their connecting flight to Denver on Friday. This was something that was beyond their control. They spent the night at the home of an official who greeted them in New York, then took an early flight to Denver on Saturday morning.    The three Iraqis were greeted in Denver airport by a U.S. Olympic Committee employee and a USA Wrestling employee. When their baggage came in, they were driven directly from Denver to the USOTC, about an hour away. When in Colorado, they were also greeted by a blanket of snow on the ground, which had fallen throughout the morning of their arrival.    A good turnout of broadcast and print journalists greeted the Iraq delegation at the 2:00 p.m. press opportunity, where they were greeting by USOC and USA Wrestling leaders, coaches and athletes.    "We mark another milestone as we develop another opportunity for sports in Iraq," said USOC Chief Communications Officer Darryl Seibel. "Today we will learn about a journey that began in Iraq, went to Jordan, went on to New York City last night, Denver this morning and Colorado Springs today. This is a journey that could lead to the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece."    "We are pleased to have these special guests here for four months," said Jim Scherr, USOC Chief Executive and Chief of Sport Performance. "This will allow us to achieve our mission. One, to help athletes achieve their Olympic dreams, and two, to preserve and promote the Olympic ideals for mankind."    "Every journey begins with small steps," Scherr continued. "The greatest journeys being with hope. We appreciate that they have joined us in their journey. These two wrestlers and their coach have had the courage to come here and pursue their dreams."    "I would like to thank the USOC for providing us with this wonderful opportunity to extend our hand of friendship to the Iraqi wrestlers and to assist them in their journey to achieve their dreams," said USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender.    "We are happy to have the Iraqi team and coach with us," said National Greco-Roman Coach Steve Fraser, a 1984 Olympic champion. "I have watched them compete. They are tough. They are great fighters. We are excited to have them here at our training center and with our athletes."    "It is a pleasure to be here today to welcome athletes from across the world," said 2000 Olympic champion Rulon Gardner, who is a USOTC resident athlete. "It is great to be able to bring athletes and sportsmen together, to see them train and compete. I appreciate what the IOC and the USOC have done to bring in athletes to us which will make us better wrestlers."    After the American dignitaries spoke, the Iraqi guests were given an opportunity to say how they felt through an interpreter.    "In the name of God, in my name and for the Iraqi Olympic Committee and all Iraqi wrestlers, we thank the IOC, the US Olympic Committee and USA Wrestling," said Iraq coach Hasson. "We thank all of the organizations in helping us to come here. Our feeling is good. It is exciting to come here to get training and prepare for the Olympic Games and the Arab Games. This is our first opportunity to get training from American wrestlers. We like it here. We are pleased. Thank you."    "We thank the American wrestlers," said wrestler Salman. "This is a great opportunity to get training. This is a new world for us. We like it and we are happy. We will have a long time to train and to wrestle."    "For everybody who make it successful for us to be here, thank you for your effort," said wrestler Mohammed. "Thank you for this time for us to reach the Olympic Games. For any athlete to get this opportunity, this is great. We hope to get great results."    The questions from the press ranged from athletic to political topics.    When asked about the recent violence in Iraq against Americans, coach Hasson said, "This violence, we refuse this. It is not part of Islam. We are against this behavior."    They were all asked a number of questions about the training situation in Iraq.    "Every athlete needs training," said athlete Mohammed. "We don't have these opportunities in Iraq. When we get this chance, to provide us with the equipment that we need, certainly we will accomplish a lot."    Coach Hasson was more detailed about the training cycle for the team.    "After the end of the Saddam Hussein regime on April 10, by April 20, we started our training," said Hasson. "It was random. It was not regular, because we did not have the training halls available for wrestling. Most of the places were destroyed or being looted. They did try to provide us with some small places, but it was not adequate. The athletic situation in Iraq is improving. The Iraq Olympic Committee is making places in cities and are encouraging people to participate. We participated in the World Championships in France, and in the events in Serbia and in Uzbekistan. The results were positive. We hope the new government in Iraq will provide adequate places for athletes in Iraq."    "We were isolated from the world in the 1990's," said athlete Mohammed. "It affected society there, especially on the athletic side. This can lead us to gold medals. Now that we are in America, we can accomplish something."    Then a media member asked the Iraqis about the reports of imprisonment and torture under the Iraq Olympic Committee run by Uday Hussein. They were asked if it was true.    "Yes, that is true," said coach Hasson. "The one who loses would get torture and imprisonment. We wrestlers, in 2001, in the Arab Championships in Syria, our results were negative. They were not good results. So they stocked the whole team for 35 days and punished them. A lot of them got long jail time, so they quit as athletes.     When asked if he was sent to jail, coach Hasson said yes. Athlete Salman said, "It happened to my friends, not me." Athlete Mohammed said, "I didn't participate in that event, because I had broken my hand."     "They imprisoned the whole team," said Coach Hasson. "They did not get results, and were imprisoned for 35 days."    After the press conference, the athletes and coach were taken to the wrestling room on the OTC campus. They were formally welcomed by National Coach Steve Fraser.    "This is our wrestling room, where we train every day," said Fraser. "Last week, we got brand new mats. Next door to us is the weight room. We have locker rooms an