Cejudo captures America’s heart and wins gold medal, as wrestling captures three Olympic medals

The future has arrived at USA Wrestling.

Everybody knew that Henry Cejudo had a bright future in international men's freestyle wrestling. Throughout his career, he not only was way ahead of his time, but showed the talent and desire that makes a champion.

When he was a junior in high school, he left his Arizona home to live and train with the nation's best coaches and athletes at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. The next year, he became the first high school wrestler to win a U.S. Senior National title since USA Wrestling became the governing body. He competed on his first U.S. Senior World Championship team at the tender age of 20.

But who would have expected that Cejudo would shock the world by winning an Olympic gold medal at 55 kg/121 lbs. at the Beijing Games at the age of 21, then charm the nation with his tremendous talent and amazing personal story?

Henry Cejudo expected it.

"I'm no longer the future, I'm the present. This yellow medal hanging around my neck is proof of that," said Cejudo in his post-victory press conference.

Cejudo (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) put together an inspiring performance on the mats in Beijing, winning four matches against the world's best wrestlers. After his 2-2, 3-0 gold-medal victory over Tomohiro Matsunaga of Japan, his heartwarming celebration was a burst of emotion and joy which included a victory lap around the entire wrestling stage carrying the American flag in the China Agricultural University Gymnasium.

He had three very challenging matches in order to qualify for the finals, dropping the first period of all three bouts and having to come from behind for the victories. In each match, Cejudo's aggressive style and never-say-die attitude was the difference in victory.

Cejudo's first match was an upset of 2006 World champion Radoslav Velikof of Bulgaria, 0-1, 3-2, 4-3. In the quarterfinals, Cejudo turned on the offense to defeat Besarion Gochashvili of Georgia, 1-3, 3-2, 3-0. In another intense battle, Cejudo won his semifinal bout over Namig Sevdimov of Azerbaijan, 3-5, 3-2, 4-3. Cejudo scored the winning point against Sevdimov with a clutch takedown with only 24 seconds left in the match.

"He is the present, and he is the future," National Freestyle Coach Kevin Jackson told the New York Times. "He has two more cycles in him. And he hasn't come close to how good he can be."

His life story quickly made international news, the son of a undocumented immigrants, raised by his mother under challenging conditions, with his older brother Angel and other family members by his side the entire way. Angel, also a nationally ranked freestyle wrestler who trains with Henry at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, was Henry's training partner during his Olympic Games journey.

"I was born and raised in the U.S. and I don't forget that. As much as I love Mexican heritage, I'm American first and foremost. The U.S. is a land of opportunity and you choose your own path," said Cejudo.

His path in Beijing was to the gold-medal victory stand, and he has become one of the top stories of the entire Olympic Games. Both Cejudo and Jackson expect many great things for his future, including more Olympic glory. However, for right now, Henry Cejudo is the face of U.S. wrestling, and an American success story.

Cejudo was among three Olympic medalists from the U.S. wrestling program, joining two bronze medalists on the platform: men's Greco-Roman wrestler Adam Wheeler (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC) at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. and Randi Miller (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC) at 63 kg/138.75 lbs.

Wheeler defeated Han Tae-Young of Korea in the bronze medal match, 3-1, 4-1. During the morning session, Wheeler won his first two matches, then was defeated in the semifinals by Mirko Englich of Germany, which placed him into the bronze-medal match.

"My wife and my mother are here," said Wheeler during his press conference after the victory. "We have 19 people who came here for me, and it can't get any better than that."

Wheeler was a surprise Olympian, defeating 2005 World bronze medalist Justin Ruiz in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials to make the team. Of the six members of the U.S. Greco-Roman team, he was the least heralded member of the team. Yet when the opportunity presented itself, Wheeler had the best tournament of his life in Beijing.

"I am very happy for Adam," said National Greco-Roman Coach Steve Fraser. "He has worked hard for many years, especially the last few months. "He has a great attitude. He is a wonderful, coachable kid."

Miller defeated three-time World bronze medalist Martine Dugrenier of Canada 1-0, 1-2, 1-1 in the bronze medal match. Miller won her first two matches, before dropping a quarterfinal match to 2004 Olympic champion, and ultimately the 2008 champion, Kaori Icho of Japan. She battled back with a clutch win in the repechage round to earn a spot in the bronze-medal match.

"I really wanted a gold medal today, but I am very happy with a bronze. She was a very tough opponent. She is a World silver medalist. I need to learn from this tournament and next time I need to bring home a gold," said Miller.

Miller defeated 2004 Olympic silver medalist Sara McMann in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials to earn her spot on the team.

In Beijing, her bruising style of wrestling, where she puts constant pressure on opponents for the entire match, proved to be a medal-winning strategy. Her bronze-medal win against Dugrenier impressed USA Wrestling National Women's Coach Terry Steiner.

"Randi wrestled almost a perfect match," said Steiner. "She stayed in her opponent's face and stayed tough. She found a way to win at the end. She did a great job of working to get that point. I was hoping we would score a little bit earlier. Randi's hard to wrestle when she sets that kind of pace. I knew Randi would wear her down - it was just a matter of time. It was a classical Randi type of a match."

The U.S. women's freestyle team had two other chances to win a bronze medal, but the athletes were defeated in the medal match and placed fifth. Clarissa Chun was defeated in the bronze medal match at 48 kg/105.5 lbs. by 2004 Olympic champion Irini Merlini of Ukraine and Ali Bernard was stopped by five-time World champion Kyoko Hamaguchi of Japan in her bronze-medal bout at 72 kg/158.5 lbs.

Chun (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) and Bernard (New Ulm, Minn./Gator WC) wrestled with skill competing in their first Olympic Games. Chun beat 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Patricia Miranda to make the U.S. team, and Bernard had two past World champions in her weight class at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

There were many outstanding personal stories among the U.S. wrestlers who did not medal, including the efforts of 18-year Greco-Roman phenom Jake Deitchler (Ramsey, Minn./Minnesota Storm), who was the first person in 32 years to make an Olympic wrestling team right out of high school.

However, the gold-medal victory by Cejudo, and the clutch bronze medal wins by Wheeler and Miller, will be the lingering memories from the Beijing Olympic Games.

U.S. OLYMPIC WRESTLING TEAM PERFORMANCE

Greco-Roman team
55 kg/121 lbs. - Spenser Mango, St. Louis, Mo. (Gator WC), 8th
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Jake Deitchler (Ramsey, Minn./Minnesota Storm), 12th
74 kg/163 lbs. - T.C. Dantzler (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC), 16th
84 kg/185 lbs. - Brad Vering (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC), 12th
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Adam Wheeler (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC), Bronze Medal
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Dremiel Byers (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army), 7th
Coaches - Steve Fraser (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Jay Antonelli (Chesapeake, Va.), Rich Estrella (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Women's freestyle team
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Clarissa Chun (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids), 5th
55 kg/121 lbs. - Marcie Van Dusen (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids), 9th
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Randi Miller (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC), Bronze Medal
72 kg/158.5 lbs. - Ali Bernard, (New Ulm, Minn./Gator WC), 5th place
Coaches - Terry Steiner (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Tadaaki Hatta (Oberlin, Ohio

Men's freestyle team
55 kg/121 lbs. - Henry Cejudo (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids), Gold Medal
60 kg/132 lbs. - Mike Zadick (Solon, Iowa/Gator WC), 19th
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Doug Schwab (Iowa City, Iowa/Gator WC), 14th
74 kg/163 lbs - Ben Askren (Columbia, Mo./Sunkist Kids), 7th
84 kg/185 lbs. - Andy Hrovat (Ann Arbor, Mich./New York AC), 12th
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Daniel Cormier (Stillwater, Okla./Sunkist Kids), withdrew
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Steve Mocco (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC), 7th
Coaches - Kevin Jackson (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Lee Kemp (Alpharetta, Ga.), Kerry McCoy (College Park, Md.)