Sesker World Championships Blog: Long journey to Tashkent begins
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by Craig Sesker USA Wrestling
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – We’re going to Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Those were the words of USA Wrestling communications director Gary Abbott when he stepped up to the United Airlines counter late Friday morning at the Colorado Springs Airport.
And so it begins. Gary, myself and Richard Immel, the three members of USA Wrestling’s communications department, are set to begin our nearly 24-hour trek to Tashkent for the 2014 World Championships.
We will start with a two-hour flight to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport and then fly over the Atlantic Ocean on an eight-hour flight to Frankfurt, Germany. The final leg of the journey to Tashkent, a flight of nearly eight hours, will hopefully land us in Uzbekistan.
We will be covering the seven-day event which kicks off with the freestyle competition on Monday and Tuesday.
On the drive to the airport, Gary informed me that he covered his first World Championships in Tokyo, Japan in 1990. John Smith won his third of four World titles that year.
I covered my first of eight World Championships in 2006. It was a memorable trip to Guangzhou, China when Joe Warren and Bill Zadick both struck gold for the U.S.
Richard will be covering his second Worlds after making his debut last year in Budapest, Hungary. He watched Jordan Burroughs win his second World title less than a month after breaking his ankle.
Our communications staff doesn’t travel overseas nearly as much as our coaches and athletes, so we are making sure we have everything we need for the trip – computers, video cameras, passports, notebooks, etc.
We each checked one bag and will have to pick it up in Frankfurt, go through customs and then hustle to catch our flight to Tashkent. We also each have a small carry-on bag in addition to our computer bags.
I’ve been fortunate to see some amazing places in my eight-plus years at USA Wrestling. I’ve been to Tokyo, Moscow, Rio de Janeiro, London and Beijing.
We are also traveling with USAW staff members Jaimie McNab and Mike Clayton. Jaimie informs me it is her birthday tomorrow, so I may buy her a Coca-Cola or a Blue O4 on the flight. I ran into Mike this morning when I was getting some coffee in the office and he told me has traveling with Jaimie tomorrow. I informed Mike that Jaimie was traveling with us today and he realized he was indeed leaving today as well.
Luckily for Mike, I decided to grab that cup of coffee. You’re not in Iowa anymore, Son! Jaimie and I are both from Iowa as well.
A trip like this won’t allow much time for sightseeing. We are scheduled to land in Tashkent late Saturday night, and then we jump right into work on Sunday. The first four U.S. athletes will weigh in that day. We will head to the competition venue to get our credentials and also check out the press tribune where we will be working for the next week.
I did receive a bit of good news when I was able to move 30 seats closer to the front of the plane for the flight from Chicago to Frankfurt. Every minute will be important as we try to quickly work our way through customs to get on the next plane.
The U.S. freestyle team has arrived in Tashkent with the women’s team scheduled to get in about the same time we do. The freestyle teams have both been training during their acclimation camp in Rome.
The Greco-Roman squad, which competes last, also will be in Tashkent in the next few days. The Greco boys have been training in nearby Kazakhstan.
We will once again be providing extensive coverage of the event with stories, video, social media updates, blogs, results and any other information we are able to provide.
The tournament will feature a new twist with 24 total weight classes this year. There are now eight wrestlers competing in each style, one more than in the past.
The U.S. is considered a legitimate contender for team titles in men’s and women’s freestyle. The U.S. Greco team is also hungry to make some noise in Tashkent under first-year coach Matt Lindland.
This is always an exciting event and I can’t wait until the first whistle blows on Monday morning.
Go USA!
Those were the words of USA Wrestling communications director Gary Abbott when he stepped up to the United Airlines counter late Friday morning at the Colorado Springs Airport.
And so it begins. Gary, myself and Richard Immel, the three members of USA Wrestling’s communications department, are set to begin our nearly 24-hour trek to Tashkent for the 2014 World Championships.
We will start with a two-hour flight to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport and then fly over the Atlantic Ocean on an eight-hour flight to Frankfurt, Germany. The final leg of the journey to Tashkent, a flight of nearly eight hours, will hopefully land us in Uzbekistan.
We will be covering the seven-day event which kicks off with the freestyle competition on Monday and Tuesday.
On the drive to the airport, Gary informed me that he covered his first World Championships in Tokyo, Japan in 1990. John Smith won his third of four World titles that year.
I covered my first of eight World Championships in 2006. It was a memorable trip to Guangzhou, China when Joe Warren and Bill Zadick both struck gold for the U.S.
Richard will be covering his second Worlds after making his debut last year in Budapest, Hungary. He watched Jordan Burroughs win his second World title less than a month after breaking his ankle.
Our communications staff doesn’t travel overseas nearly as much as our coaches and athletes, so we are making sure we have everything we need for the trip – computers, video cameras, passports, notebooks, etc.
We each checked one bag and will have to pick it up in Frankfurt, go through customs and then hustle to catch our flight to Tashkent. We also each have a small carry-on bag in addition to our computer bags.
I’ve been fortunate to see some amazing places in my eight-plus years at USA Wrestling. I’ve been to Tokyo, Moscow, Rio de Janeiro, London and Beijing.
We are also traveling with USAW staff members Jaimie McNab and Mike Clayton. Jaimie informs me it is her birthday tomorrow, so I may buy her a Coca-Cola or a Blue O4 on the flight. I ran into Mike this morning when I was getting some coffee in the office and he told me has traveling with Jaimie tomorrow. I informed Mike that Jaimie was traveling with us today and he realized he was indeed leaving today as well.
Luckily for Mike, I decided to grab that cup of coffee. You’re not in Iowa anymore, Son! Jaimie and I are both from Iowa as well.
A trip like this won’t allow much time for sightseeing. We are scheduled to land in Tashkent late Saturday night, and then we jump right into work on Sunday. The first four U.S. athletes will weigh in that day. We will head to the competition venue to get our credentials and also check out the press tribune where we will be working for the next week.
I did receive a bit of good news when I was able to move 30 seats closer to the front of the plane for the flight from Chicago to Frankfurt. Every minute will be important as we try to quickly work our way through customs to get on the next plane.
The U.S. freestyle team has arrived in Tashkent with the women’s team scheduled to get in about the same time we do. The freestyle teams have both been training during their acclimation camp in Rome.
The Greco-Roman squad, which competes last, also will be in Tashkent in the next few days. The Greco boys have been training in nearby Kazakhstan.
We will once again be providing extensive coverage of the event with stories, video, social media updates, blogs, results and any other information we are able to provide.
The tournament will feature a new twist with 24 total weight classes this year. There are now eight wrestlers competing in each style, one more than in the past.
The U.S. is considered a legitimate contender for team titles in men’s and women’s freestyle. The U.S. Greco team is also hungry to make some noise in Tashkent under first-year coach Matt Lindland.
This is always an exciting event and I can’t wait until the first whistle blows on Monday morning.
Go USA!
