Olympic bronze medalist Adam Wheeler turns focus to career in law enforcement

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Adam Wheeler had his plan mapped out.

He entered the U.S. Coast Guard coming out of high school and was hoping to land a job with the Los Angeles Police Department by the time he was 21 years old.

Those plans changed when Wheeler was recruited to compete in Greco-Roman wrestling at the U.S. Olympic Education Center program at Northern Michigan University.

"Going to Northern Michigan was the best decision I ever made," said Wheeler, a native of Lancaster, Calif. "I graduated with a degree in criminal justice, I met (USOEC coach) Ivan Ivanov, I met my wife (Marley) at Northern Michigan and then I ended up coming to Colorado Springs to train."

Following that path led Wheeler to the pinnacle of his wrestling career on Aug. 14 in Beijing, China. That's when he captured an Olympic bronze medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at 96 kg/211.5 lbs.

Eleven days after returning home to Colorado, Wheeler began his training in the Colorado Springs Police Academy on Aug. 27.

Wheeler, 27, works roughly 40 hours a week while training in the Police Academy. He works from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day. He is scheduled to finish his training in February. He said he was one of just 16 people selected, out of several hundred applicants, for the Police Academy.

"It's going real well - it definitely keeps me busy," Wheeler said. "I'm enjoying it. There's been a lot of classroom work - studying laws and statues. We're getting into learning self-defense and the proper use of force. I always knew I was going to get into law enforcement. That's why I went into the Coast Guard in the first place."

Once he finishes his training at the Police Academy, Wheeler said he expects to start out working as a patrolman.

"I would have to do that for at least a couple of years," he said. "Then you can look into becoming a detective or look into being on a SWAT team, but that's very competitive. A lot of areas interest me. I'm looking forward to being out on patrol."

Wheeler said he hasn't officially retired from wrestling, but for now he is focused on his law enforcement career.

"I haven't ruled wrestling completely out," he said. "I'm just going to keep my options open."

Wheeler was one of the surprises at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June. He upset four-time U.S. World Team member and No. 1 seed Justin Ruiz in the finals of the Olympic Trials. Ruiz was a World bronze medalist in 2005.

Wheeler finished second behind Ruiz in the U.S. Nationals and U.S. World Team Trials in both 2005 and 2007, but he had never made a World-level team at the Senior level until this year.

"My mindset was that this could be my last tournament and I wanted to do everything possible to win," he said. "I wanted to make sure I gave it everything I had. I had a very realistic mindset. I was already planning on going to the Police Academy, win or lose. I was an underdog, but I felt I was at my best going into the Trials. I was pretty confident I could do really well if I put everything together."

After graduating from Northern Michigan, Wheeler moved to Colorado Springs and began training with the Greco-Roman Resident Program at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.

Wheeler was the lone U.S. Greco-Roman wrestler to win a medal at last month's Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Wheeler served as Ruiz's training partner when the U.S. won the Greco-Roman team title at the 2007 World Championships.

"I really had nothing to lose at the Olympics," Wheeler said. "There was no pressure on me and I think that worked in my favor. When you're on top and expected to win, that puts a lot more pressure on you. Going into the Olympics, I was in really good shape and I wasn't getting tired. I felt great. And beating Justin at the Trials, my confidence level was up."

Of the six guys on the U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman Team, Wheeler was the guy people knew the least about.

"I wasn't getting any attention in the press or anything going into the Olympics," he said. "It gave me a little secret motivation and it did push me."

Wheeler rebounded from a tough 2-1, 2-1 loss to Germany's Mirko Englich in the Olympic semifinals to beat Han Tae-Young of Korea 3-1, 4-1 in the bronze-medal match.

Wheeler won a pair of ball draws in his semifinal match against Englich, but was reversed in the first and second period to fall short against the German. He then had to regroup in the second session to try and win a bronze medal over the Korean.

"I was really upset, to the point of almost being in tears, after losing in the semis. I couldn't even talk I was so upset after that match," Wheeler said. "I knew I had to stick it out and come back strong. I had to clear my mind. My coaches talked to me and gave me some motivation. I knew I was either going to go home with a medal or go home with nothing. It was huge, in my opinion, to come back and win a medal."

Wheeler said he has been invited to speak at three schools - two in Colorado Springs and one in Denver - since returning home from Beijing. He has spoken to students at the middle school and elementary levels.

"My message was all about setting goals and following your dreams," Wheeler said. "I was an underdog forever. I don't know how many times I finished second in tournaments. I told the kids, 'Don't give up on our your dreams and keep working hard.'"

Wheeler's persistence helped him achieve a goal much higher than the one he had set entering the 2008 season.

"My whole goal was to make the Olympic Team," he said. "Once I made it, my goals and expectations got a lot higher. I knew there was a good chance I could do well. It's awesome to be an Olympic medalist. Being able to say I have an Olympic medal, and knowing that not many people do, I accomplished more than I expected.