Greco-Roman standout Joe Betterman has high hopes for upcoming season
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by Craig Sesker
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - When Joe Betterman won the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Las Vegas, he knew he would not be representing his country in the 2008 Olympic Games.
The United States came up short of qualifying for the Olympics in Betterman's Greco-Roman wrestling weight class of 60 kg/132 lbs.
But the reality of not competing in Beijing, China, did not fully sink in for Betterman until the night of 8-8-08, when the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympic were held at the Bird's Nest National Stadium.
Betterman sat in the athletes' lounge at Beijing Normal University - along with numerous American training partners in wrestling and other sports - and watched on television as the U.S. Olympians marched into the stadium before a sellout crowd of 90,000 fans.
"The first week in Beijing was really tough for me. You're training with the Olympians, but you're not part of the team," Betterman said. "The real killer was the Opening Ceremonies. Watching everyone walk and not being there, even though I won the Trials … that was a hard lesson learned. I'll get that weight qualified the next time. Missing out on the Olympics is a huge motivator for me. It hurt not being out there."
The 24-year-old Betterman, who competed for the U.S. at the 2007 World Championships, enters the 2008-09 season with lofty goals. The season will culminate with the 2009 World Championships, set for Sept. 21-27 in Herning, Denmark.
"I've basically been training straight through since the Olympics," Betterman said. "I'm like one of the racehorses, ready to get out of the gate. I'm very excited about starting this season. I want to be the best in the World."
Betterman is scheduled to jump back into competition during the weekend of the New York Athletic Club Holiday International Open in late November.
The U.S. is scheduled to wrestle Russia in a dual meet just prior to the New York AC tournament. Betterman is expected to face 2008 Olympic champion Islam-Beka Albiev of Russia in the dual and could see him again in the tournament.
The 19-year-old Albiev is the second youngest wrestling gold medalist in Olympic history and the youngest Greco-Roman champion, according to international governing body FILA.
"I'm looking forward to getting a lot of great matches in," said Betterman, who competes for the New York Athletic Club. "I trained so hard the last four or five years to get to the level I'm at in the United States. Now I need to improve internationally, so I can be at the top in the World and the Olympics. I need to get as many tournaments under my belt as I can."
After the trip to New York, Betterman will then travel to Europe to compete in the Haparanda event in Sweden.
Betterman moved in July to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, where he is coached by Steve Fraser, Momir Petkovic and Anatoly Petrosyan.
Betterman came to Colorado after spending several years at the U.S. Olympic Education Center program at Northern Michigan University. He trained under Coach Ivan Ivanov at the USOEC. Ivanov also has helped develop Olympic medalist Adam Wheeler, World medalist Harry Lester and Olympian Spenser Mango.
"I had great coaching at the USOEC with Ivan, and now I have great coaches in Colorado with Momir Petkovic, Steve Fraser and Anatoly Petrosyan that I can learn from," Betterman said. "Plus, I can still go back to the USOEC and train periodically there. Without the USOEC, I wouldn't be where I'm at today. The road would've been a lot longer. Ivan is an awesome coach. I wouldn't trade anything for the experience I had up there."
Betterman, a Chicago native, said he is about "a year away" from earning his college degree. He hopes to enroll in classes at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs for the Winter semester.
Betterman, who excels in the top position with a lethal reverse lift, has been working on all facets of his Greco-Roman game.
"I definitely need to get better on my par terre defense," he said. "There are a lot of clutch spots in a match where you have to defend. I need to get better on my feet, so I can take guys down and then I won't have to go in the down position."
Fraser, who led the U.S. to the 2007 team title at the World Championships, likes the way Betterman has progressed.
"Joe Betterman is one of the most explosive and powerful wrestlers on our team," Fraser said. "He has outstanding potential to succeed on the international scene. For him to take the next step up, he will need to continue to improve his skills, while training with the great intensity that is in his blood.
The United States came up short of qualifying for the Olympics in Betterman's Greco-Roman wrestling weight class of 60 kg/132 lbs.
But the reality of not competing in Beijing, China, did not fully sink in for Betterman until the night of 8-8-08, when the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympic were held at the Bird's Nest National Stadium.
Betterman sat in the athletes' lounge at Beijing Normal University - along with numerous American training partners in wrestling and other sports - and watched on television as the U.S. Olympians marched into the stadium before a sellout crowd of 90,000 fans.
"The first week in Beijing was really tough for me. You're training with the Olympians, but you're not part of the team," Betterman said. "The real killer was the Opening Ceremonies. Watching everyone walk and not being there, even though I won the Trials … that was a hard lesson learned. I'll get that weight qualified the next time. Missing out on the Olympics is a huge motivator for me. It hurt not being out there."
The 24-year-old Betterman, who competed for the U.S. at the 2007 World Championships, enters the 2008-09 season with lofty goals. The season will culminate with the 2009 World Championships, set for Sept. 21-27 in Herning, Denmark.
"I've basically been training straight through since the Olympics," Betterman said. "I'm like one of the racehorses, ready to get out of the gate. I'm very excited about starting this season. I want to be the best in the World."
Betterman is scheduled to jump back into competition during the weekend of the New York Athletic Club Holiday International Open in late November.
The U.S. is scheduled to wrestle Russia in a dual meet just prior to the New York AC tournament. Betterman is expected to face 2008 Olympic champion Islam-Beka Albiev of Russia in the dual and could see him again in the tournament.
The 19-year-old Albiev is the second youngest wrestling gold medalist in Olympic history and the youngest Greco-Roman champion, according to international governing body FILA.
"I'm looking forward to getting a lot of great matches in," said Betterman, who competes for the New York Athletic Club. "I trained so hard the last four or five years to get to the level I'm at in the United States. Now I need to improve internationally, so I can be at the top in the World and the Olympics. I need to get as many tournaments under my belt as I can."
After the trip to New York, Betterman will then travel to Europe to compete in the Haparanda event in Sweden.
Betterman moved in July to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, where he is coached by Steve Fraser, Momir Petkovic and Anatoly Petrosyan.
Betterman came to Colorado after spending several years at the U.S. Olympic Education Center program at Northern Michigan University. He trained under Coach Ivan Ivanov at the USOEC. Ivanov also has helped develop Olympic medalist Adam Wheeler, World medalist Harry Lester and Olympian Spenser Mango.
"I had great coaching at the USOEC with Ivan, and now I have great coaches in Colorado with Momir Petkovic, Steve Fraser and Anatoly Petrosyan that I can learn from," Betterman said. "Plus, I can still go back to the USOEC and train periodically there. Without the USOEC, I wouldn't be where I'm at today. The road would've been a lot longer. Ivan is an awesome coach. I wouldn't trade anything for the experience I had up there."
Betterman, a Chicago native, said he is about "a year away" from earning his college degree. He hopes to enroll in classes at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs for the Winter semester.
Betterman, who excels in the top position with a lethal reverse lift, has been working on all facets of his Greco-Roman game.
"I definitely need to get better on my par terre defense," he said. "There are a lot of clutch spots in a match where you have to defend. I need to get better on my feet, so I can take guys down and then I won't have to go in the down position."
Fraser, who led the U.S. to the 2007 team title at the World Championships, likes the way Betterman has progressed.
"Joe Betterman is one of the most explosive and powerful wrestlers on our team," Fraser said. "He has outstanding potential to succeed on the international scene. For him to take the next step up, he will need to continue to improve his skills, while training with the great intensity that is in his blood.
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