Henry Cejudo celebrates after winning an Olympic gold medal (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)The Russian doping scandal is in its final days and with its passing comes a moment for reflection on the values of sport and the Olympic event.
Money certainly corrupts and it seems that too often doping is tied to the accumulation of wealth through triumphing during sporting competitions. That might be something that we can never change, but I hope that the lessons of sport -- for all age groups -- doesn't take on this singular value.
Sport, wrestling especially, teaches us about ourselves with every practice and competition. Given the time and sacrifices it takes to be successful in sport, it would be a shame if in the end we competed as nothing more than money-hungry vessels interested in self-worship.
I'm eager for the Olympics to begin and for the stories of individual sacrifice and triumph to bubble into my Facebook feed. I look forward to big throws on the mat, but I also anticipate the moments leading up to a consequential foot race -- to see who can run the fastest or jump the highest (not much into swimming).
Every four years the run-up to the Olympics is used as a way to gauge what's backwards about a country (Zika, corruption, protests) and international sport (bribery, doping) but come August 5 that all goes away and we are treated to three weeks of Games. A way to forget troubles, applaud triumph and celebrate athletic achievement.
Count me in as someone content to cheer.
To your questions …
Q: What are you top three USA Olympic wrestling performances ever? Why?
-- @J_Agnitsch125
Foley: Henry Cejudo because he outwrestled everyone he faced at an insanely competitive weight class.
John Smith's second Olympic title in 1992 came at the end of A LOT of winning for Smith. Not only was there a bullseye on his chest for being so dominant, he had the expectations of the Americans also weighing him down. Remember he BARELY got out of the pool, but despite losing to the Cuban at the end of the pool he goes out and put a spanking on the Iranian.
Rulon Gardner … Not sure it has to be restated!
Q: Congrats on the new film "Battsetseg: Mongol Queen." What was most enjoyable about that project?
-- Mike C.
Foley: Mongolia has long been my favorite place to visit. Heading into the countryside, sleeping in a ger and interacting with people whose outlook on life has been informed by a totally different set of stimuli are all reasons I look forward to going back. The "Eternal Blue Sky" is probably another, but really, as with any trip, the best moments are enjoyed seeing friends and spending time with their families.
Guillaume filming in sub-freezing temperaturesWhat I'll remember about that afternoon is that while I sat with my hands shoved in my pants Guillaume was dead-eye focused on his viewfinder and steadying the tripod to ensure a good shot. That's when I noticed his nose dripping blood. I did what any true friend would do and, instead of grabbing a tissue, I grabbed my camera snapped a shot and then pointed at him like he was a monster.
There was a lot put into that film, and the three others that will be coming out in the next two weeks. So I guess this anecdote stands as proof that when I tell you that we put blood, sweat and tears into this project, I'm not exaggerating.
Q: Have you seen the Bollywood film "Sultan" yet? I had a chance to catch it in a theater near DC and was impressed, the production value of the film was phenomenal for a wrestling film. Did the folks at UWW provide any insight for the film makers?
-- Jacob R.
Foley: No insights that I'm aware of, but they were in touch regarding promotion. Loving the previews! The story seems to tie together traditional wrestling in the country and future Olympic success, which is both neat and has the luxury of being true. Also, that there is a popular girl wrestler draws on plenty of recent examples.
Looking forward to seeing it, but I still choose Jason Bourne for this weekend's trip to the box office.
MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME
Battsetseg: Mongol Queen (FULL MOVIE)
Sultan
Smith's loss at 1992 Olympics
Q: I read that 2016 Olympians are not eligible to compete at Non-Olympic World Team Trials. Any idea the reasoning behind this?
-- Mike C.
Foley: They aren't eligible to compete at the international level. The idea is that you want to keep the weights separated and resist the urge by some to send a wrestler out for a medal who already had a world-level opportunity in Rio de Janeiro. Just like they were running side-by-side you couldn't have one wrestler compete in two weights, you can't have them enter the World Championships for new weight categories.
Q: Predictions on who enters World Team Trials at 61 kilograms and 70 kilograms?
-- @Eagle_Fan
Foley: We know that James Green will be in the finals of the World Team Trials at 70 kilograms, so that's an easy tick of the box. Staring him down could be an array of wrestlers from around different weights. Nick Marable, Jason Welch, Dustin Schlatter, Kevin LeValley, Moza Fay and Adam Hall.
At 61 kilograms I'm looking at Tony Ramos, Reece Humphrey, Joe Colon, Tyler Graff, Frank Perrelli, Nahshon Garret, and maybe Matt McDonough.
Teshya Alo recently won her sixth Fargo title (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Q: How good can be Teshya Alo be on the senior level? She's only 18, so it's hard for me to get a feel for it. It certainly looks like she has a lot potential. Do you see her winning some world medals and potentially titles by the time the dust settles?
-- Mike C.
Foley: I've watched Teshya at the Cadet and Junior level for the past three seasons and while I totally understand it's hard to judge a women's growth in the sport (we just haven't seen it a lot), I'd have to predict she's going to be nails.
Everything is in place for Teshya. She's brilliant in understanding how to win, she's hard-nosed and has opportunities to compete based on her previous success.
Is she a multiple-time world champion? I don't know. But I do think she makes World teams and competes for medals at the senior level.
Q: Iowa State landed the No. 3 recruiting class by InterMat. In Fargo, future Cyclones claimed a combined seven All-American finishes and four national titles. Does KJ have ISU back primed for a return to national title contention?
-- Mike C.
Foley: I don't keep a close beat on the youth scene, but I read some tweets about these finishes and the ranking and took pause. Maybe Kevin Jackson gets a much worse wrap than he deserves.
Winning anywhere is tough. If we can all agree that the times have changed and power shifted East then we can also agree that being in Iowa is not a great recruiting benefit for Coach Jackson. National titles are great, but after 40-plus years they lose their luster in the eyes of 17-year-old recruits.
So on nothing but staff and some incredible performances by individuals over the years Coach Jackson has proven to be an effective recruiter and developer of talent.
That said, I don't know that the class is enough to boost the Cyclones into national title contention, but its certainly a great place to start.
Q: Johny Hendricks has struggled mightily since he first became a UFC champion. He has now lost three of his last four fights, and looked especially bad in his last two. What do you attribute to his struggles?
-- MC
Foley: There are some obvious dieting issues that were never addressed, but I think that he also didn't develop with the sport. One thing that might have harmed that development was a focus on his big-bomb striking, which took his wrestling for granted and didn't work on submissions. The MMA game changes quickly and without a lot of focus on all areas a fighter can get passed up in a hurry.
Another reason for a decline is the number of absolutely insane man-battles Johny faced in the previous two years. Something is taken from you in the fights he had with GSP and Lawler. I wrestled hard for 90 minutes yesterday and in that pure exhaustion I was given a quick reminder (sans contact) how hard it is to compete in combat sports. Adding back in a fully actualized barbarian like Robbie Lawler punching you in the face … I don't know who could keep up that type of fighting for very long.
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