Mo Lawal focused on pursuit of winning Olympic gold medal in 2008
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by Craig Sesker
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - When 16-year-old Mo Lawal stepped onto a wrestling mat for the first time, the Texas high-schooler was missing an important piece of equipment.
Wrestling shoes.
"I was wrestling in my socks," Lawal said with a laugh. "But then I beat this guy out for a spot on the team and he ended up quitting. I bought his shoes from him for $20."
From that point on, Lawal was hooked.
Now a little more than a decade after he could've been known as Shoeless Mo, the 27-year-old Lawal stands in the shoes of a World-class athlete who needs just two wins to make his first U.S. Olympic Team.
Lawal won the U.S. Nationals in freestyle wrestling last month at 84 kg/185 lbs., earning a spot in the best-of-3 finals for June's Olympic Team Trials in Las Vegas. A win there would send Lawal to the Olympic Games, set for Aug. 12-21 in Beijing, China.
"Ever since I started wrestling I wanted to be the best," Lawal said. "I wanted to reach the highest level in the sport and I know I can do that by winning a gold medal in the Olympics. That's all I've wanted to do for a long time - win the Olympics."
Lawal may not have ever stepped onto a wrestling mat if not for the influence of his high-school football coach.
"Our coach told us to go out for wrestling to help us with our tackling," Lawal said with a laugh. "We missed too many open-field tackles in one of our games and he told the whole defense to go out for wrestling."
He's glad he took his coach's advice.
"Oh yeah, I loved wrestling from the beginning," Lawal said. "It was a lot tougher sport than I ever thought it would be. You had to learn so much technique, plus the conditioning was tough. All of us football players thought we were in good shape, but we were all dying when we did the conditioning for wrestling. It was a lot of hard work."
Lawal adapted quickly to wrestling, placing second in the Texas state tournament for Plano East High School in 1997 and 1998. He won a state title in 1999.
Even with his success, Lawal largely was ignored by Division I college recruiters. He wound up at NCAA Division II powerhouse Central Oklahoma. He placed second at the D-II Nationals in 2001 before winning a national title in 2002. He transferred to Oklahoma State for his final college season, placing third at the 2003 NCAA Championships to help the Cowboys win the NCAA team title.
As you might expect, the athletic, explosive Lawal made a rapid transition to freestyle wrestling. He placed third in the 2004 Olympic Team Trials in Indianapolis after wrestling well in a loss to eventual Olympic gold medalist Cael Sanderson.
"Cael was a great wrestler," Lawal said. "But I went into that match thinking I could beat Cael. He wrestled smart and got the job done. But I came away from that match knowing I could be an Olympic champion someday."
Lawal made his first U.S. World Team in 2005 and placed seventh in the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Lawal looked destined to win a World medal in 2006. He won the U.S. Nationals and was the No. 1 seed at the U.S. World Team Trials in Sioux City, Iowa. But Lawal, wrestling with a lower back injury, was caught in the first period and pinned in the semifinals by No. 5 seed Andy Hrovat. Lawal ended up third at the Trials.
"I didn't wrestle smart and I didn't take my opponent seriously enough and I got beat," Lawal said. "I'm not taking anything away from Andy. He had a better day and he got me. That loss really hurt. I learned a lot from that and I think I'm a better wrestler now because of it."
In 2007, Lawal bumped up a weight class to 96 kg/211.5 lbs. He lost to fellow Oklahoma State alumnus Daniel Cormier in the finals of the U.S. Nationals and U.S. World Team Trials. Cormier went on to win a bronze medal at the 2007 World Championships.
Lawal has dropped back down to 84 kilos this season. He downed Hrovat 1-1, 1-0 in the finals of the 2008 U.S. Nationals.
"He's unorthodox and he's dangerous," Lawal said of Hrovat. "You have to wrestle smart and wrestle hard against him."
Lawal had microfracture surgery on his left knee on Jan. 30, and is still not 100 percent physically. It was the same surgery Portland Trail Blazers No. 1 draft pick Greg Oden had. Oden sat out the entire 2007-08 NBA season after having the same surgery Lawal did.
"I'm getting closer," Lawal said of his knee. "It's been a slow healing process, but I hope to be 100 percent by the Olympics."
U.S. National Coach Kevin Jackson said a healthy Lawal could be a force in Beijing.
"Technically and tactically, Mo's better than he was when he wrestled in the World Championships in 2005," Jackson said. "He definitely has the skill, the athleticism and the strength to win. We expect great results from him. The key for Mo will be to gain the consistent training he needs to prepare for the challenges he will be facing."
The outgoing, personable Lawal is one of the sport's most colorful characters.
He wore gold shoes in the finals of the Big 12 tournament as a senior at Oklahoma State, and did the "Ali Shuffle" and raised his arms in the air with five seconds left in his finals win over Nebraska's Justin Ruiz.
He came out for the finals of the 2007 U.S. Nationals wearing a black robe and a mask as he stepped up onto the platform to face Cormier. His outfit sported the slogan, "25/8, better than 24/7."
He's been known to dance and bark to the crowd after pulling out big victories.
In early 2007, his wrestling ability and colorful antics made him a fan favorite in Iran. Lawal won over a sellout crowd when he and a group of Americans competed in a tournament in wrestling-mad Iran.
Following his win over a Russian opponent at the 2007 Chicago Cup, he received a huge ovation from the crowd before a large group of young fans swarmed around Lawal to get his autograph.
"I just try to have fun out there and show my personality," Lawal said. "I'm not trying to show anybody up or disrespect my opponents. I'm just Mo - that's my personality. I try to show my true spirit and put on a show for the fans."
Don't be surprised if Lawal unveils something new for the fans when he steps onto the mat at the Olympic Trials.
"You know me, I may have to come up with something," he said. "You'll just have to wait and see."
Lawal plans to parlay his wrestling talents into a career in mixed martial arts, where huge paydays are the norm for the athletes at the top of that sport. He has trained in California with Team Quest, the highly successful fighting group that includes past Olympic wrestlers Dan Henderson and Matt Lindland.
"My first dream is to be Olympic champion," Lawal said. "My second dream is to be MMA World champion."
For now, his focus is squarely on wrestling and earning a trip to Beijing for the Olympics.
"The trip to Beijing would be OK," Lawal said. "But I am not going to fly 12 hours to China to sightsee. I just want to go over there, win an Olympic gold medal and come back home.
Wrestling shoes.
"I was wrestling in my socks," Lawal said with a laugh. "But then I beat this guy out for a spot on the team and he ended up quitting. I bought his shoes from him for $20."
From that point on, Lawal was hooked.
Now a little more than a decade after he could've been known as Shoeless Mo, the 27-year-old Lawal stands in the shoes of a World-class athlete who needs just two wins to make his first U.S. Olympic Team.
Lawal won the U.S. Nationals in freestyle wrestling last month at 84 kg/185 lbs., earning a spot in the best-of-3 finals for June's Olympic Team Trials in Las Vegas. A win there would send Lawal to the Olympic Games, set for Aug. 12-21 in Beijing, China.
"Ever since I started wrestling I wanted to be the best," Lawal said. "I wanted to reach the highest level in the sport and I know I can do that by winning a gold medal in the Olympics. That's all I've wanted to do for a long time - win the Olympics."
Lawal may not have ever stepped onto a wrestling mat if not for the influence of his high-school football coach.
"Our coach told us to go out for wrestling to help us with our tackling," Lawal said with a laugh. "We missed too many open-field tackles in one of our games and he told the whole defense to go out for wrestling."
He's glad he took his coach's advice.
"Oh yeah, I loved wrestling from the beginning," Lawal said. "It was a lot tougher sport than I ever thought it would be. You had to learn so much technique, plus the conditioning was tough. All of us football players thought we were in good shape, but we were all dying when we did the conditioning for wrestling. It was a lot of hard work."
Lawal adapted quickly to wrestling, placing second in the Texas state tournament for Plano East High School in 1997 and 1998. He won a state title in 1999.
Even with his success, Lawal largely was ignored by Division I college recruiters. He wound up at NCAA Division II powerhouse Central Oklahoma. He placed second at the D-II Nationals in 2001 before winning a national title in 2002. He transferred to Oklahoma State for his final college season, placing third at the 2003 NCAA Championships to help the Cowboys win the NCAA team title.
As you might expect, the athletic, explosive Lawal made a rapid transition to freestyle wrestling. He placed third in the 2004 Olympic Team Trials in Indianapolis after wrestling well in a loss to eventual Olympic gold medalist Cael Sanderson.
"Cael was a great wrestler," Lawal said. "But I went into that match thinking I could beat Cael. He wrestled smart and got the job done. But I came away from that match knowing I could be an Olympic champion someday."
Lawal made his first U.S. World Team in 2005 and placed seventh in the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Lawal looked destined to win a World medal in 2006. He won the U.S. Nationals and was the No. 1 seed at the U.S. World Team Trials in Sioux City, Iowa. But Lawal, wrestling with a lower back injury, was caught in the first period and pinned in the semifinals by No. 5 seed Andy Hrovat. Lawal ended up third at the Trials.
"I didn't wrestle smart and I didn't take my opponent seriously enough and I got beat," Lawal said. "I'm not taking anything away from Andy. He had a better day and he got me. That loss really hurt. I learned a lot from that and I think I'm a better wrestler now because of it."
In 2007, Lawal bumped up a weight class to 96 kg/211.5 lbs. He lost to fellow Oklahoma State alumnus Daniel Cormier in the finals of the U.S. Nationals and U.S. World Team Trials. Cormier went on to win a bronze medal at the 2007 World Championships.
Lawal has dropped back down to 84 kilos this season. He downed Hrovat 1-1, 1-0 in the finals of the 2008 U.S. Nationals.
"He's unorthodox and he's dangerous," Lawal said of Hrovat. "You have to wrestle smart and wrestle hard against him."
Lawal had microfracture surgery on his left knee on Jan. 30, and is still not 100 percent physically. It was the same surgery Portland Trail Blazers No. 1 draft pick Greg Oden had. Oden sat out the entire 2007-08 NBA season after having the same surgery Lawal did.
"I'm getting closer," Lawal said of his knee. "It's been a slow healing process, but I hope to be 100 percent by the Olympics."
U.S. National Coach Kevin Jackson said a healthy Lawal could be a force in Beijing.
"Technically and tactically, Mo's better than he was when he wrestled in the World Championships in 2005," Jackson said. "He definitely has the skill, the athleticism and the strength to win. We expect great results from him. The key for Mo will be to gain the consistent training he needs to prepare for the challenges he will be facing."
The outgoing, personable Lawal is one of the sport's most colorful characters.
He wore gold shoes in the finals of the Big 12 tournament as a senior at Oklahoma State, and did the "Ali Shuffle" and raised his arms in the air with five seconds left in his finals win over Nebraska's Justin Ruiz.
He came out for the finals of the 2007 U.S. Nationals wearing a black robe and a mask as he stepped up onto the platform to face Cormier. His outfit sported the slogan, "25/8, better than 24/7."
He's been known to dance and bark to the crowd after pulling out big victories.
In early 2007, his wrestling ability and colorful antics made him a fan favorite in Iran. Lawal won over a sellout crowd when he and a group of Americans competed in a tournament in wrestling-mad Iran.
Following his win over a Russian opponent at the 2007 Chicago Cup, he received a huge ovation from the crowd before a large group of young fans swarmed around Lawal to get his autograph.
"I just try to have fun out there and show my personality," Lawal said. "I'm not trying to show anybody up or disrespect my opponents. I'm just Mo - that's my personality. I try to show my true spirit and put on a show for the fans."
Don't be surprised if Lawal unveils something new for the fans when he steps onto the mat at the Olympic Trials.
"You know me, I may have to come up with something," he said. "You'll just have to wait and see."
Lawal plans to parlay his wrestling talents into a career in mixed martial arts, where huge paydays are the norm for the athletes at the top of that sport. He has trained in California with Team Quest, the highly successful fighting group that includes past Olympic wrestlers Dan Henderson and Matt Lindland.
"My first dream is to be Olympic champion," Lawal said. "My second dream is to be MMA World champion."
For now, his focus is squarely on wrestling and earning a trip to Beijing for the Olympics.
"The trip to Beijing would be OK," Lawal said. "But I am not going to fly 12 hours to China to sightsee. I just want to go over there, win an Olympic gold medal and come back home.
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