Preparing for the Olympics Part 2

Total commitment.

That's what it takes to be an Olympic-caliber wrestler. It’s a lifestyle, says Pat Smith, the No. 1 ranked U.S. Greco-Roman wrestler at 77 kg/170 pounds.

“If you want to be the best in the world, you have to make that your number-one priority,” Smith says. “Meaning pretty much every decision in your life should be affected by your goal. My schedule throughout the day, week, or month is always based on my training schedule. That comes first, everything else fits in around that.”

For Smith, that means he prioritizes a regular schedule and good sleep over an active social life. He eats right and surrounds himself with positive, like-minded people.

“I make sure I'm putting clean foods in my body that provide the right nutrients for energy and recovery,” Smith says. “I try to surround myself with positive people to minimize unhealthy stresses. Cutting small corners in these areas, even though it doesn’t seem like much, can add up to a lot over time. Being the best on the important days is only possible when you strive for your best day in and day out.”

It also means adjusting other parts of one’s life, especially in 2020, an Olympic Year. Josef Rau, ranked No. 1 at 87 kg/192 pounds, is all-in when it comes to the total commitment of being a wrestler. So for now, he’s put his improv comedy and standup comedy open mic nights on hold.

“Even though I goof around and laugh a lot I am very serious about my dreams and priorities,” Rau says. “I live an unorthodox life with unorthodox dreams and priorities. I have a little war going on inside my head like most people. Mine is not only to figure out how to get the most out of myself on the mats but also how to find true joy and happiness. I want to live a great life. And I have come full circle to know that accomplishments don’t make a great life, but being surrounded by great people and being in great places do.”

Family Matters

Life has changed for many top U.S. wrestlers since the last Olympic cycle in 2016. Jordan Burroughs and his wife just had their third child. Adeline Gray is married—and she and her husband have still never lived together full-time because of their unique careers and schedules. Kyle Dake is married and now has a 1-year-old child. Katherine Shai has a 2-year-old son.

In the first article in this series, Preparing for the Olympics: Part 1, Shai touched on how motherhood has altered any regularities in her training schedule.

“There’s a theme with my training schedule,” Shai said. “That theme is, it’s always changing. What was supposed to be a morning run may turn into a late evening run. What was supposed to be a morning workout may turn into a short one-hour workout and be finished later. It doesn’t look the same every day, and even when I have a schedule all planned out, it can still change on the fly.”

Seven-time World Medalist Adeline Gray and her husband Damaris Sanders were married in 2017. Because of Gray's training and travel schedule, and Damaris being a Captain in the Army who has been stationed around the world, the two have never actually lived in the same location together.

“We travel to each other to be together,” Gray says. “It is unconventional, but it is the only life as a couple that we have experienced. It is kind of nice to continue to have the newness of being together refreshed every time I see him. We travel to cool locations and see each other more on vacation and at my wrestling events than in our home.”

The two will get to be a little closer starting in 2020. In January Sanders entered the Space Force, and will be stationed in Colorado, Gray’s home state.

“I am excited to have Damaris with me in my native state,” Gray says. “It is so beautiful there and to have him and my home base together will be a nice support system going into the Olympics.”

Kyle Dake heads home from training to his wife, Megan, and daughter, EllaJo, who turned 1 in January.

“A big change is the number of diapers I’ve had to change,” Dake jokes. “A ton has stayed the same but almost everything has changed. “The evolution of how I train and live my life has undergone massive change, and all for the better. The biggest constant is my wife, Megan—we’ve been together for 12 years and she is the person who I count on day in and day out for mental and emotional support. She has done a tremendous job raising EllaJo, which is one of the most important things we talked about before getting married; to raise well-rounded and respectful children who can pursue their dreams.”

The Business of Wrestling

There’s something else Shai is working to change: the stereotype that moms and women with families can't succeed as Olympic-caliber athletes.

Shai started an educational/sport content platform for female wrestlers focusing on health, sport, and empowerment. She also provides personal training and coaching services. Times have changed for today's wrestlers. One way Shai hopes to help empower and inspire athletes is through the use of social media. Twenty years ago, that opportunity wasn’t there. Today’s athletes can also get paid for promoting or sponsoring a product, often through social media.

“It’s an exciting time for women's and girls’ wrestling in general, but I think we can do an even better job,” Shai says. “My goal is to continue to reach more people, even those not in wrestling, and as a part of this journey, to show young women and women with families that it is still possible to still follow your dreams.”

Shai continued: “As a wrestling community in general, we are amped about what our female athletes are doing, but the more we keep pushing and promoting and sharing the stories of what women in our sport are doing, and can do, the more attention the sport gets, and hopefully that can mean female athletes can stay in the sport and make a living doing so.”

Sponsorships, endorsements, and the ability to make money from competing from a wrestler varies greatly. Like many top athletes, Snyder works with a wrestling apparel and footwear company.  He also works with fitness, strength, and conditioning equipment company ROGUE, and the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club and Titan Mercury Wrestling Club.

“All of these organizations help support me financially,” Snyder says. “With the continual growth in support of the regional training centers around the country, there is a lot more opportunity for wrestlers to make a living and continue to compete. I am very thankful to work with all of these organizations because their mindset aligns with my own.”

Burroughs and wife Lauren had their third child in early 2020, and now have two girls and one boy. According to jordanburroughs.com, Burroughs’ lengthy list of sponsors includes HowUDish, an iPhone app that helps athletes find nutritious meals on the go, Bridgestone, Ralph Lauren and others.

Other wrestlers rely on sponsorships from the wrestling clubs and Regional Training Centers where they train, stipends from USA Wrestling, businesses they have started, and part-time jobs.

Most senior Greco-Roman wrestlers have jobs, or are part of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program, a military unit whose primary mission is to support nationally and internationally ranked soldiers in participating on the U.S. Olympic team, Smith says. Gray, Shai, Dake, Snyder, and Rau are also supported by Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC is sending 46 total athletes to the Olympic Trials). Pat Smith is supported by the Minnesota Storm and has a flexible part-time job.

Personal Changes

Snyder, a 2016 Olympic champ, two-time World champ and current top-ranked U.S. wrestler at 97 kg/213.9 pounds, in October announced plans to move his training from Columbus, Ohio, and the Ohio Regional Training Center to State College, Pennsylvania, and the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. To him, that's not even the biggest change in his life.

“The biggest difference from 2016 to 2020 is the way I have matured in my faith,” Snyder says. “My faith was strong in 2016, but God has continued to teach me and correct me to grow into a deeper understanding of what is truly valuable. This has had a big impact on the way that I think about competing and training. The NLWC is full of people who have the same mindset as me and they push me to continue to grow.”

Rau met his now girlfriend while traveling and training. She’s from Belgium, traveled with him to Denmark and in late February will be with Rau during a Greco-Roman National Team training camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. She’s also traveling with him to another training camp in Canada and to the Pan Am Championships.

Most wrestlers at this level are totally committed for their own personal reasons, Rau says, not reasons that have to do with fame and fortune. 

“I think what is unique about being a high-level Olympic athlete that people don’t realize is that it’s kind of like being a struggling artist,” Rau says. “People just see these athletes on the finish line or about to wrestle and they assume they have easy lives and probably have a lot of money and fame. For most people living this dream, a lot of sacrifices have been made and are being made. Some people are living on couches or with a ton of roommates. I even knew an athlete who lived in their car for a while. A lot of athletes are working late nights or in between practices. And most people are pretty obscure to the public, never to be known until they make it to the Olympics and do something big. And even then a lot of people don’t experience fame and fortune that people may assume comes with being a high-level athlete.”

“When it comes down to it, we are all ordinary people trying to do extraordinary things,” he says. “We are all human, we all make mistakes and we all are trying to get the most out of ourselves to accomplish our lifelong dreams. I think people watch us and judge us and assume that we are not like them. I think the only thing that may separate us from other people is that we have a huge dream and we are chasing it.”