Wrestling Blogs - Martin Floreani

Not many people can say that "Coming back from Vegas I have a clear and focused mind" I have been grounded and learned from the feats that I saw. After watching the Olympic Trials I try and take a little bit from the best performances.

I have never seen a wrestler with as unique mental perspective as Ben Askren. Ben isnt an amazing athlete in the physical realm, but has a real unique mental side that propels him to the top and makes him as a whole one of the best American Athletes in years. I take from Ben that you can always do things your own way and never have to apologize for it....He reinforces that in me.

It is cool to see this Deichler character come out from Left Field and become America's best in the Greco Roman field. He knocked off Lester and is only 18 years old. I cant wait to get to know Deichler better. What I take from Deichler is that you dont have to be seasoned but you have to be bold. Also dont look at previous standards and expectations.

Watching the 84 KG Freestyle match I was totally blown away. Mo Lawal is such a great guy and an inspiration for anybody and Andy Hrovat is the Silent H!!...nough said. Andy Hrovat was def the underdog in this match. As I went around talking with people beforehand I was surprised to think that not many people thought Silent H had a chance to win. I dont make too many predictions in matches and really dont even cheer for these guys, but I knew that Silent H had a decent chance. Im simply an observer who is lucky enough to be taking in the greatest and most exciting sport in the world from mat side. I cant control who wins and all Im hoping for that the matches are called right and its an all out battle.

So back to the 84 kg match, all the skeptics for Silent H looked to be proven right heading into the end of the second period of the second match when Mo Lawal was dominating winning the first match 2 periods to nil and the first period of the 2nd Match. So When Mo Lawal won the coin flip I thought that Andy Hrovat could be on his last leg (85% of the time the winners of the coin flip win the period). Well Andy won the clinch! He clawed his way back and won the third period to take the second match and force a rubber match.

Well to make a long story short, Andy couldnt penetrate on the legs of the explosive Lawal for almost all three full matches yet his defensive was doing real good for him....but with 15 seconds left in the third period of the last match he was down 1-0 and needed to score. He picked Lawals leg, in what seemed like slow motion, and took down Lawal and won the period, match and Olympic Spot. Lessoned learned: If you can piece small little victories and you can make them bigger victories. This match is living proof that wrestling is the most exciting sport in the world.

60 Kg Fr:A lot of people got on Zadick for calling me out in the press conference and even I confronted him on it later..."What was up with that" He told me that he worked his whole life to make the Olympics and just wanted it to enjoy it and didnt want anybody to be negative about it at that moment. I saw his point and how he felt and that is cool. Normally I would be a little more flippant at someone who said something like that but I didnt want to divert the attention away from Mike at his moment and I think Mike is a good guy. I am sorry though that he wont be going to Beijing because the US didnt qualify the weight..

66 kg FR: I have to say something about Schwab. Here is a guy who is real solid and ready to perform. Last year people probably thought he was a fluke but he is performing at high levels which might have something to do with that he has a whole other level of confidence. Lesson Learned: You can be a completely different wrestler in a matter of a year. (jumping levels)

HWT Greco: Byers really wears his heart on his sleeve. Im beginning to really enjoy watching his matches.

Ok there is a lot more but man it is getting late and I got to wake up tomorrow early! I did want to say that it would be cool to go Beijing and cheer on these athletes together. I will be there and Im sure a lot of the families are going. Im like the thriftiest traveler in the world and dont like rip off hotels or cheesy tour guides. Well I got to know Ludus Tours and these guys are my style. They give you what you want and what you need while being flexible and getting you good deals on hotels without trying to rip you off. Also the couple that started this are really cool people and down to earth. It would be cool to get a fan base cheering on our wrestlers.

PS In Beijing Im going to be a fan for the first time since the 2007 World Championships! USA!!!USA!!!!