The USA Greco-Roman Seniors returned stateside over the weekend following their training camp in Germany. It wasn’t an incredibly long trip. They arrived in Dortmund on the 16th, competed at the German Grand Prix two days later, and then participated in a week-long international camp in Saarbrücken that wrapped on Friday.
Much has been made of the World Team’s performance at the GP. We detailed a lot of it here last week. Whether you believe there are a bunch of technical (or mental, or emotional) adjustments needing to be made, the time to get those done is right now, in this interim some 58 days from when Greco-Roman competition commences at the World Championships.
Currently, the Senior World Teamers have a brief respite before they reconvene for the all-encompassing major National Team camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. As is annually the case, this will be an all hands on deck training experience featuring a room crammed with the country’s top competitors (in case the words “National Team camp” didn’t give that away). The ten World Teamers, wherever they may be leading up to the National Team camp, are still going to be working on an individual basis prior to meeting back up at the OTC, but it is this camp early next month that will provide the last big piece in the peaking puzzle prior to the big show.
We will provide coverage of the Senior World/National Team camp including mid-week reports from athletes and coaches. And right on the camp’s heels will be the Junior World Championships in Slovakia, so there is plenty to look forward to if you’re a supporter of the US program.
2018 USA Senior Greco-Roman World Team Camp
WHERE: US Olympic Training Center – Colorado Springs
WHEN: Monday, September 10th-Friday, September 21st
Three Americans In Poland
The 2018 Wladyslaw Pytlasinski Cup in Spala, Poland kicks off on Friday, September 7th and three US Seniors are scheduled to participate — 2018 World Team member G’Angelo Hancock (97 kg, Sunkist), Joe Rau (87 kg, Chicago RTC), and Brandon Mueller (77 kg, 505 WC).
While in Germany, Hancock reportedly dealt with a swollen Achilles’ that proved too problematic for him to compete, so he’s checking in for the Pytlasinski to grab (hopefully a few) high-level matches. In the meantime, the three athletes are banging around in the Pylasinski’s accompanying training camp that ends on Thursday, September 6th, with the tournament set to begin the next day.
The Wladyslaw Pytlasinski Cup is a popular event for Greco athletes around the globe due to where it falls on the calendar. Each year, many wrestlers who are preparing for the World Championships or Olympic Games use the Pytlasinski as a tune-up tournament, so the degree of talent available is usually considerable and brackets tend to be stacked. There weren’t any Americans in the tournament last year, but in 2016, World Team member Patrick Martinez (87 kg, NYAC) took third. The last US placewinner before Martinez was World Champ Dremiel Byers (bronze) back in 2011.
2018 Wladyslaw Pytlasinski Memorial Cup
WHERE: Spala, Poland
WHEN: Friday, September 7th-Sunday, September 9th
Friday, September 7th — 55 kg, 63 kg, 72 kg, 82 kg, 97 kg
10:00am-4:00pm — Qualification rounds
4:00pm-8:00pm — Qualification-semifinals
Saturday, September 8th — 60 kg, 67 kg, 77 kg, 87 kg, 130 kg
10:00am-3:00pm — Qualification rounds/repechage for Day 1 weight classes
5:00pm-9:00pm — Finals/medal matches for Day 1 weight classes
Sunday, September 9th
10:00am-4:00pm — Repechage for Day 2 weight classes
5:00pm-9:00pm — Finals/medal matches for Day 2 weight classes
New Podcast Forthcoming
The 20th episode of The Five Point Move Podcast will be available later this week with special guest 2016 Olympian/two-time World Team member Jesse Thielke (63 kg, NYAC/LOG). Thielke discusses his win at the Trials and the training phase for the Worlds, and then he goes toe-to-toe with Dennis Hall in a trivia game focusing on questions about Wisconsin. Does anything else need be said?
WRESTLERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Your (somewhat) weekly dose of inspiring words, knuckleheaded antics, or thought-provoking questions from your favorite US (and sometimes international) Greco-Roman athletes and coaches.
Homecoming for the German GP silver medalist.
Nothing like American soil! 🇺🇸
— Dalton Roberts (@DRoberts59kg) August 26, 2018
The reply to that tweet is probably worth including.
Yessuh!.. the soil is good ‘round here. suppose soil is good round Germany too.. to the German people. Once knew a boy.. had hands like a catchahs mit. Just like his pappy.Dont see much him round here anymore.. even with the good soil and all.. ever since he went to college
— Josef Rau (@Raustler84) August 27, 2018
Like Roberts, Thielke was also glad to touch down in the States.
God bless this beautiful, amazing country
— Jesse David Thielke (@thielke_smooth) August 26, 2018
Exercise.
The great Shawn Sheldon enjoys vacation.
Your U23 World Team member at 63 kilos folks!
The Marines say ‘thank you’.
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