PAN AM NOTES: Canada’s Taub now qualified for the Olympics; FILA coin flip procedure changed
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by Gary Abbott
Canada's Taub qualifies for Olympics by entering Pan Ams
There is a tremendous amount of pressure at the Pan American Championships this year, and at all of the continental tournaments being held across the world. Positions in the Olympic Games are up for grabs, with the highest placing non-qualified nation in each weight class earning a trip to Beijing this summer.
FILA determined that at the continental championships, only nations which entered an athlete at each weight class at the 2007 World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan will be eligible to qualify their nation for the Olympics at that weight. That means, for nations which did not send a full team to Baku, at some weights, the continental championships will not be a qualifier for their athletes.
At the 2007 World Championships in Greco-Roman, only three athletes from the Pan American nations entered at 120 kg/264.5 pounds. Two of these athletes won medals and qualified their nations for Beijing, World champion Mijail Lopez of Cuba and World bronze medalist Dremiel Byers of the United States.
That meant that the third wrestler, Canada's Ari Taub, only had to weigh in and enter today's Pan American Championships to earn the qualifying spot for Beijing.
Taub, 37, has an interesting background. He works as a lawyer. He has wrestled both freestyle and Greco-Roman internationally. Although he has not won a medal at a World Championships in either style, he won a bronze medal at the 2007 Pan American Games, and has captured two Pan American Championships medals.
"I am a lawyer, with four young kids. I do it because I love it and it's a huge mental challenge to see if you can come to these competitions and perform your best when it counts. I am in quest of the perfect match. I enjoy talking to people from other countries that I know. I am having fun," said Taub.
He did not compete internationally between 1992, when he was second in the Pan Am Championships in freestyle, until 2004, when he entered Olympic Qualification events in Greco-Roman but did not qualify for the Athens Games.
"Ari is a remarkable story. He was forced to retire due to an injury, back in the early 90's. Years later, he came back to help one of our athletes, Eric Kirschner, and realize that he could still compete. He was cleared to wrestle. In 2004, he won the Olympic Trials but was unable to wrestle because he did not qualify," said Don Ryan, Canada's Greco-Roman coach.
Taub said his injury had been misdiagnosed, and doctors had told him he could never enter contact sports again. After he decided to get back into coaching years later, an MRI cleared him to compete. He has been wrestling on the Senior Greco-Roman circuit for the last five years, and truly enjoys the new rules of the sport. He is making the time in spite of his busy schedule to compete at a world level.
"It is difficult. When I am away, I am working all the time. I run my own business, and my boss is great, very flexible with my time. As long as I am willing to sacrifice the time and my lost income, it is no big deal for me," he said.
Coach Ryan is impressed by the commitment and enthusiasm which Taub puts into his Olympic quest.
"He has a personal coach from Bulgaria, who has been working with him daily. He won our Olympic Trials against Colby Bell, a 1996 Olympian for Canada. He is living the dream. I enjoy working with him. He is having fun and working hard. He comes down to the USA to train often, and has a good relationship with Coach Steve Fraser and the people down here. He will get in more international events before the Olympics, then come down here to train some with the U.S. guys before going to Beijing," said Ryan.
Taub said he was injured in the Canadian Olympic Trials and is just getting back into shape. In addition to securing his Olympic qualification, Taub had specific goals for his performance here at the Pan Am Championships.
"I am at 60% strength right now, and have not been training much yet. I am not expecting much here. I want to get into positions, and try to learn from any mistakes that I make here," he said.
Taub lost his only match of the tournament, falling to Venezuela's Rafael Borreno, 0-3, 1-1, 0-3. When Borreno was defeated by American Russ Davie in the semifinals, Taub was eliminated from medal contention.
Next up is preparation for the Olympics. Taub will work with Bulgarian coach Slavi Stanev, work out with a Bulgarian training partner, spend time working out in the United States and travel overseas for more international events. He plans to make the most of his Olympic opportunity.
"I have to train smart," said Taub. "At 37, I can't train as hard as the young wrestlers. I have to get better and better as I go."
New procedure for coin toss initiated
FILA, the international wrestling federation, unveiled a new system for the coin toss procedure in wrestling at the Pan American Championships this weekend.
In the past, the mat referee would toss a coin, with one side red and the other side blue, at the end of periods to determine which athlete takes the top position in the Greco-Roman reverse lift position, or which wrestler secures the leg during the freestyle leg clinch.
Due to concerns that some of the coin tosses may not have been fair at some events, FILA has added a step to the process.
Now, when the coin is tossed, the color determines which wrestler pulls a colored ball out of a black bag. The wrestler must look away from the bag when picking a ball. In Greco-Roman, the color of the ball determines which wrestler takes the top position in the first 30-second period from the reverse lift.
In some of the early matches at the Pan Am Championships, not only were some wrestlers but also a few officials a bit confused with the process, but everybody quickly figured it out.
FILA Vice-President Mario Saletnig, who is the refereeing delegate for the tournament, feels that the new procedure has worked "very well."
"Some European countries brought to the attention of the FILA President that some people might have put weight in the coin, and were working with two coins in the pocket. One was red-loaded and the other blue-loaded. FILA does not want any interference from referees. Even now, if the coin is loaded, it doesn't matter. The ball is in the black bag. An opportunity to cheat has been eliminated," said Saletnig.
Saletnig noted that FILA will provide the bags and the balls for competition to insure its integrity. One result of the new procedure is that each match will be a little bit longer, adding to the length of the wrestling sessions. However, he believes the change is positive and is working.
"At least we know it is honest," said Saletnig. "It is good for the athlete. They don't have to worry about cheating. We are also very interested in preserving the integrity of the referees."
There is a tremendous amount of pressure at the Pan American Championships this year, and at all of the continental tournaments being held across the world. Positions in the Olympic Games are up for grabs, with the highest placing non-qualified nation in each weight class earning a trip to Beijing this summer.
FILA determined that at the continental championships, only nations which entered an athlete at each weight class at the 2007 World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan will be eligible to qualify their nation for the Olympics at that weight. That means, for nations which did not send a full team to Baku, at some weights, the continental championships will not be a qualifier for their athletes.
At the 2007 World Championships in Greco-Roman, only three athletes from the Pan American nations entered at 120 kg/264.5 pounds. Two of these athletes won medals and qualified their nations for Beijing, World champion Mijail Lopez of Cuba and World bronze medalist Dremiel Byers of the United States.
That meant that the third wrestler, Canada's Ari Taub, only had to weigh in and enter today's Pan American Championships to earn the qualifying spot for Beijing.
Taub, 37, has an interesting background. He works as a lawyer. He has wrestled both freestyle and Greco-Roman internationally. Although he has not won a medal at a World Championships in either style, he won a bronze medal at the 2007 Pan American Games, and has captured two Pan American Championships medals.
"I am a lawyer, with four young kids. I do it because I love it and it's a huge mental challenge to see if you can come to these competitions and perform your best when it counts. I am in quest of the perfect match. I enjoy talking to people from other countries that I know. I am having fun," said Taub.
He did not compete internationally between 1992, when he was second in the Pan Am Championships in freestyle, until 2004, when he entered Olympic Qualification events in Greco-Roman but did not qualify for the Athens Games.
"Ari is a remarkable story. He was forced to retire due to an injury, back in the early 90's. Years later, he came back to help one of our athletes, Eric Kirschner, and realize that he could still compete. He was cleared to wrestle. In 2004, he won the Olympic Trials but was unable to wrestle because he did not qualify," said Don Ryan, Canada's Greco-Roman coach.
Taub said his injury had been misdiagnosed, and doctors had told him he could never enter contact sports again. After he decided to get back into coaching years later, an MRI cleared him to compete. He has been wrestling on the Senior Greco-Roman circuit for the last five years, and truly enjoys the new rules of the sport. He is making the time in spite of his busy schedule to compete at a world level.
"It is difficult. When I am away, I am working all the time. I run my own business, and my boss is great, very flexible with my time. As long as I am willing to sacrifice the time and my lost income, it is no big deal for me," he said.
Coach Ryan is impressed by the commitment and enthusiasm which Taub puts into his Olympic quest.
"He has a personal coach from Bulgaria, who has been working with him daily. He won our Olympic Trials against Colby Bell, a 1996 Olympian for Canada. He is living the dream. I enjoy working with him. He is having fun and working hard. He comes down to the USA to train often, and has a good relationship with Coach Steve Fraser and the people down here. He will get in more international events before the Olympics, then come down here to train some with the U.S. guys before going to Beijing," said Ryan.
Taub said he was injured in the Canadian Olympic Trials and is just getting back into shape. In addition to securing his Olympic qualification, Taub had specific goals for his performance here at the Pan Am Championships.
"I am at 60% strength right now, and have not been training much yet. I am not expecting much here. I want to get into positions, and try to learn from any mistakes that I make here," he said.
Taub lost his only match of the tournament, falling to Venezuela's Rafael Borreno, 0-3, 1-1, 0-3. When Borreno was defeated by American Russ Davie in the semifinals, Taub was eliminated from medal contention.
Next up is preparation for the Olympics. Taub will work with Bulgarian coach Slavi Stanev, work out with a Bulgarian training partner, spend time working out in the United States and travel overseas for more international events. He plans to make the most of his Olympic opportunity.
"I have to train smart," said Taub. "At 37, I can't train as hard as the young wrestlers. I have to get better and better as I go."
New procedure for coin toss initiated
FILA, the international wrestling federation, unveiled a new system for the coin toss procedure in wrestling at the Pan American Championships this weekend.
In the past, the mat referee would toss a coin, with one side red and the other side blue, at the end of periods to determine which athlete takes the top position in the Greco-Roman reverse lift position, or which wrestler secures the leg during the freestyle leg clinch.
Due to concerns that some of the coin tosses may not have been fair at some events, FILA has added a step to the process.
Now, when the coin is tossed, the color determines which wrestler pulls a colored ball out of a black bag. The wrestler must look away from the bag when picking a ball. In Greco-Roman, the color of the ball determines which wrestler takes the top position in the first 30-second period from the reverse lift.
In some of the early matches at the Pan Am Championships, not only were some wrestlers but also a few officials a bit confused with the process, but everybody quickly figured it out.
FILA Vice-President Mario Saletnig, who is the refereeing delegate for the tournament, feels that the new procedure has worked "very well."
"Some European countries brought to the attention of the FILA President that some people might have put weight in the coin, and were working with two coins in the pocket. One was red-loaded and the other blue-loaded. FILA does not want any interference from referees. Even now, if the coin is loaded, it doesn't matter. The ball is in the black bag. An opportunity to cheat has been eliminated," said Saletnig.
Saletnig noted that FILA will provide the bags and the balls for competition to insure its integrity. One result of the new procedure is that each match will be a little bit longer, adding to the length of the wrestling sessions. However, he believes the change is positive and is working.
"At least we know it is honest," said Saletnig. "It is good for the athlete. They don't have to worry about cheating. We are also very interested in preserving the integrity of the referees."
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