Wrestler's eyes fixed on Athens

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Mike Meares
  • 50th Space Wing Public Affairs
SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFPN) --  Sitting in a quiet corner of the wrestling room at the Olympic Training Center, Jacob Hey stares into the bright yellow color of the floor mats mentally preparing himself to conquer his next obstacle.

A year after successful reconstructive shoulder surgery, the Greco-Roman wrestler is back to 100 percent and has his eyes fixed on Athens, Greece, and the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Hey, a staff sergeant, is a member of the All-Air Force Wrestling Team through the World Class Athlete Program and is training for his second chance at the Summer Olympics -- this time in the birthplace of Greco-Roman wrestling, his specialty.

"Jacob is the dark horse on the mat this year," said Rich Estrella, All-Air Force Wrestling Team coach. "He is always a split-second away from a championship and is feared because he can be so dangerously explosive."

Hey has wrestled for the All-Air Force Wrestling Team for five years and has moved up through the national ranks in the 60-kilogram weight class. Moving through the ranks has earned him respect from other wrestlers, including former Olympians.

"I have to be solid anytime I wrestle Jacob because he is strong in ways most people are not," said Jim Gruenwald, 2000 Olympian, currently ranked No.1 nationally. "I can't score on him the way I score points on most people. I'm afraid he'll score on me if I'm not careful."

Hey works out twice a day trying to take his wrestling to the next level.

"I'm ready to go," said a confident Hey. "I'm taking each day, each workout and each match as they come. There are no slouches at this level. I try to do as much as I can to get the edge in a match."

Hey travels all over the world with his team, competing against wrestlers from Russia, Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Mexico, Poland, Sweden and France -- countries with impressive records in wrestling.

Hey's latest trip took him to Sofia, Bulgaria, for a one-week tournament that started Feb 9. Hey competes in the modern Greco-Roman wrestling style, an imitation of classical Greek and Roman representations of the sport. Wrestlers can only attack above the waist. Their legs can only be used to jockey for position; legs cannot be grabbed or used to score points. This style of wrestling is one of two styles recognized by the International Olympic Committee.

"These kinds of tournaments help me gain mat experience against the best in the world," Hey said. It is at these tournaments that Hey has the opportunity to prove himself internationally, the level that will take him to the Olympics as a champion.

"When you're a champion, you have to have a swagger or confidence about you," Estrella said. "The men Jacob competes against are so close that on any given day, any one of them could be standing at the top of the podium. It all comes down to who makes the fewest mistakes."

Each year, Hey participates in the Armed Forces Championships. He is a former gold and silver medalist at this event. The next Armed Forces Championship tournament will be held in New Orleans in March. If Hey wins this tournament, he is guaranteed a spot at the Olympic Team Trials.

"Jacob is an emotional, hard-headed wrestler," Estrella said. "He doesn't give in or give up. Wrestling is his life."

Hey's dream is to win the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the very city where his sport originated -- Athens, Greece.