Tuesday morning welcomed in the opening of 2019 World Team Camp at the US Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
Every annual World Team camp is important; but when qualifying for the Olympics is on the line, that perceived importance is ratcheted up another notch.
Which is precisely the case this year, as the top-six athletes in each of the six Olympic weight classes (60 kg, 67 kg, 77 kg, 87 kg, 97 kg, and 130 kg) in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan earn berths for their nations at the Tokyo Olympics. And with the road to qualification significantly narrowed after the Worlds are through, getting it done as early as possible is the mandate for the US program — and everyone else.
But it is not all about qualifying. The four non-Olympic weights (55 kg, 63 kg, 72 kg, and 82 kg) also feature a tremendous amount of talent worldwide, and it’s the same way in America.
What does this all mean?
It means preparation for this critical edition of the Greco-Roman World Championships has been planned and tuned to meet the demands for all involved. Qualifying may appear to be Priority #1, but the USA Greco program is looking to make a definitive statement in all ten weight classes, not just the Olympic six.
One advantage the wrestlers have for this particular World Team Camp is continuity. This past spring, US National Team head coach Matt Lindland instituted a special training camp ahead of the Pan Am Championships that included several areas of concentration (most notably from par terre bottom).
Last month, everyone was back at the OTC to gear up for the Pan Am Games. There have been obvious tweaks in the curriculum(s) along the way — and this current major World Team Camp is traditionally the most intensive experience of them all — but there is a sense of familiarity and confidence regarding 2019’s directives that has already translated into tangible improvement for several athletes.
The goal now, aside from achieving unrivaled conditioning prior to departure for Kazakhstan, is to keep the upticks coming. “Stick with attacking off the bottom, scoring with our best par terre offense, and scoring on the edge,” confirms Lindland.
2019 SENIOR WORLD TEAM CAMP
Tuesday, August 20
8:00am-9:00am — Breakfast
10:30am-12:00pm — Wrestling skills
12:00pm-1:00pm — Lunch
5:00pm-6:00pm — Live wrestling
6:30pm-7:30pm — Dinner
Wednesday, August 21
8:00am-9:00am — Breakfast
10:30am-12:00pm — Live wrestling
12:00pm-1:00pm — Lunch
5:00pm-6:00pm — Wrestling skills
6:30pm-7:30pm — Dinner
Thursday, August 22
8:00am-9:00am — Breakfast
10:30am-11:30pm — Lift (WT members)
11:30am-12:15pm — Meeting/film review
12:30pm-1:30pm — Lunch
12:30pm-2:00pm — Photo shoot
6:30pm-7:30pm — Dinner
Friday, August 23
8:00am-9:00am — Breakfast
10:30am-12:00pm — Live wrestling
12:00pm-1:00pm — Lunch
6:00pm-7:00pm — Live wrestling
7:30pm-8:30pm — Dinner
Saturday, August 24
8:00am-9:00am — Breakfast
10:30am-11:30pm — Lift (WT members)
11:30am-12:15pm — Meeting/film review
12:30pm-1:30pm — Lunch
6:30pm-7:30pm — Dinner
Sunday, August 25
RECOVERY DAY
Monday, August 26
8:00am-9:00am — Breakfast
10:30am-12:00pm — Live wrestling
12:00pm-1:00pm — Lunch
5:00pm-6:00pm — Wrestling skills
6:30pm-7:30pm — Dinner
Tuesday, August 27
MATCH DAY
8:00am-9:00am — Breakfast
10:30am-12:00pm — Matches
12:00pm-1:00pm — Lunch
4:30pm — Recovery center
6:30pm-7:30pm — Dinner
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