By Ron Holt
Stillwater News Press Columnist
Some of the nation's top current and former collegiate wrestlers were in Iowa City, Iowa on April 9-10 for the United States Olympic Wrestling Trials at the University of Iowa's Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Survivors of the Olympic Trials earned a spot on the United States wrestling team that competes in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Besides being competitive, the Olympic Trials are stressful.

“The Olympic Trials is a whole other animal,” said Rulon Gardner, a two-time Olympic medal winner spoke during a break from signing autographs and visiting with young wrestlers at the Flo Reno Worlds youth wrestling tournament in Reno, Nevada on April 8-10.

“It’s something you can't comprehend unless you are in it,” said Gardner, who was inducted as a Distinguished Member into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2010. ‘To put yourself in a position to win at the Olympic Trials and then when you come out you are expected to win a medal … that is pressure. You can't afford to make a mistake in the trials.”

Gardner, a financial planner in Cheyenne, Wyoming, entered the 2000 Olympic Trials as an underdog in the 130 kg (286 pounds) division.  Veteran Matt Ghaffari, an Olympic silver medalist and world champion who was inducted as a Distinguished Member in 2013, was the favorite to capture another spot.

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