Quotes from USA Women’s Freestyle Olympic Team, updated through Wednesday
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Haley Augello hits a double leg against Jessica Blaszka of the Netherlands at the Olympic Games. Photo by Tony Rotundo, Wrestlers Are Warriors
TheMat.com will be providing quotes from the U.S. wrestlers during their Mixed Zone interviews. Videos and audio from the Mixed Zone can not be posted, so we want to share what they say with our fans.
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 17 (48 kg, 58 kg, 69 kg)
Haley Augello, 48 kg
NBC Video: Haley Augello 'proud' of her growth en route to the Olympics
After second session
“I’m sad. It’s a heartbreak, especially when you are training hard for something. In the sport of wrestling, I like to look at it as a game of cat and mouse. If you want to be the mouse, that’s fine. If you want to run, that’s fine. I am young. I am not as experienced. Just the second time wrestling international at 48 kg. So you can be the mouse if you want. I am going to hunt you down. I’ll get you next time. All these girls want to run. That’s fine. I’d rather be the cat than the mouse. If you want to win by running, that’s fine. I am going to keep chipping away and get that experience that I need. The next time we are out there, it’s a hunt, and I won’t let them spoil it again next time.”
“I learned a lot in these matches I had. I don’t take anything for granted. It was an amazing experience and an experiment. A little of both. I lost some matches on a few mistakes. I lost some matches because I was rushing things. I wasn’t patient. That is something you are going to learn. Wrestling in this tournament, I realize I am right up there with the best of them. I have to be more patient, and be more solid in my basic techniques. I have no doubt that the next three World Championships, I will come away with gold, in in Tokyo in 2020, I will come away with gold. This is the first step towards that.”
(staying at 48 kg)
“I feel good here. I feel healthy. I feel strong. I plan on holding down this weight class in America and working to the top here internationally I like it here.”
“She didn’t take any shots. It is cat and mouse and if you want to run out there, it’s fine. This is the kind of tournament you want to be safe. A win is a win. If you come away with a win with taking no shots, power to you. She won fair and square. Not all the time the refs are going to be on your side and in your corner. That is something we know going into the match. All the power is in our hands. And if I keep it close enough to let the ref decide, then that’s my own fault. It’s nobody’s fault but mine.”
“It is frustrating. Sometimes you need those kind of losses to remind you how to be more solid in your wins and how to get a secure win and not leave it in the hands of the ref, or the hands of the coaches or the hands of the block. Blame is on me. I kept it close enough to put it in the ref’s hands. That is frustrating. I need to be more precise in my shooting and I know it is tiring and frustrating to take all the shots and not have anyone shoot against you. The shots I took should have been more accurate.”
“I am planning on going back to school the second semester. I plan to take some time off, a little time away from the mat to recoup and come back hungry for wrestling. I love the sport. I was excited all day to step on the mat. I couldn’t wait for my matches. Even though I didn’t get what I want, I love being out there. It’s fun and that is why I choose to do it. It hurts to lose, but I would do it all over again.”
“These are matches under my belt. I don’t have that many international matches. Sometimes I let that get to me. I don’t know my opponents. I sometimes use that as an excuse. Being an Olympian now, I know I have to hold myself to a higher standard. I am here for a reason, and there is no reason I shouldn’t be beating these girls. I know I am right there with them. I know when I grab onto them that I am stronger, I am faster, I am a better wrestler than them. I made some mistakes today. I am going to walk away and learn from them. I will come back stronger and bring back some medals for my country the next championships and the next Olympic Games.”
After first session
“I feel good now. I was a little upset after my first loss. Seeing her defeat China by a large margin shows she’s at the top of the weight class. I had a good fight. I made a mistake and it was hard for me to come back from that. Unfortunately, it was a loss. I am ready to come back for bronze and I will do whatever it takes to get that bronze medal.”
“I got too high on the high gut and slipped off. She fell right into her leg lace and it gave her a five to seven point lead. That is hard to come back from when you are wrestling a country like Japan who has solid basic defense, and kind of just holds you off. They are not very offensive. They are solid defense. I should have just kept my lead, been patient on top, played it safe. I made a mistake and paid for it.”
“It felt like any tournament. Going out there and starting the match, I was a little shocked at how small (Blaszka) was. It proved I was meant to be here. I picked away at her, got the lead and I was ready for the next match, and was strong in the next match. I had a few mistakes that put me behind.”
“I will just relax, get my body ready for the next match. It is pretty demanding on your body, this sport. You just try to recover the best you can in the 20-30 minutes you have. Now I have 2 ½ hours, and sometimes that’s worse because you get cold and the soreness starts to settle in. But I am pretty tough and don’t worry about it.”
National Greco-Roman Coach Terry Steiner on Wednesday
NBC Video: U.S. coach Terry Steiner discusses Haley Augello's day
After second session
“She has come a long ways in a very short amount of time. As you can see, she is giving everything. She did that. We definitely had trouble getting through her arms. We need to get better than that, to get to those legs. It was a frustrating match from my perspective. I don’t think it was called how it should have been called. Early in the match, they called Haley for passivity. I don’t think it should have been called either way. Nobody had done anything. At the end, when we are pressing and pressing, they were not going to call it back. Usually, when you see it called one way, they call it the other way. But, the bottom line is you can’t come in here hoping for calls. You have to make your own breaks, and do the right things to rise above all of that, and we didn’t do that today.”
“She really can (be successful in the future). But it really comes down to bottling up what she feels now and using that to motivate her to stay on track. It is very hard to win. It can’t be a part time thing. It can’t be a 70% of the time thing. You have got to want to do this 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. You have to do the right things. You have to make the right decisions. If she is willing to do that, and I think she is, Haley does have a really bright future.”
After first session
“I think she forced the par terre situation with the high gut. It is something we had a lot of success lately in the practice room. She feels really confident with it. She just forced it a little. We didn’t need to do that. We were wrestling the perfect match and was in a good situation. That’s the way it goes.”
“She is a very confident young lady. That’s the reason she is on this team. She dares to dream big. That is who she is. She doesn’t fear people to the point that she is not going to open up. That is what I really like about Haley. She goes out and wrestles. You know what you are going to get every time. She is someone who is going to give 100% every time she steps on the mat. She is not going to back down to people or put people on a pedestal. We have some life here. We are back in this thing. Coming away with a bronze medal would really mean something. She needs that for herself. We need that for this team and we need that for the organization. Hopefully we can get that done.”
“When you can’t get (gold), then you got to get the next best thing. Leaving here with a bronze, I know it is not gold, but it is going to mean something days, weeks, months and years from now. You don’t get many chances at this. Not at this stage, at the Olympic Games. She has to make the most of it, and do whatever she has to do to get on the podium.”
“There are no secrets. We know everyone. They know us too. They have never really felt Haley. They don’t know what she is like. She is deceivingly very strong, physically strong, and that catches a lot of people off-guard. We know these people. They know us. They know what we do. We just need to get out there and battle.”
TheMat.com will be providing quotes from the U.S. wrestlers during their Mixed Zone interviews. Videos and audio from the Mixed Zone can not be posted, so we want to share what they say with our fans.
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 17 (48 kg, 58 kg, 69 kg)
Haley Augello, 48 kg
NBC Video: Haley Augello 'proud' of her growth en route to the Olympics
After second session
“I’m sad. It’s a heartbreak, especially when you are training hard for something. In the sport of wrestling, I like to look at it as a game of cat and mouse. If you want to be the mouse, that’s fine. If you want to run, that’s fine. I am young. I am not as experienced. Just the second time wrestling international at 48 kg. So you can be the mouse if you want. I am going to hunt you down. I’ll get you next time. All these girls want to run. That’s fine. I’d rather be the cat than the mouse. If you want to win by running, that’s fine. I am going to keep chipping away and get that experience that I need. The next time we are out there, it’s a hunt, and I won’t let them spoil it again next time.”
“I learned a lot in these matches I had. I don’t take anything for granted. It was an amazing experience and an experiment. A little of both. I lost some matches on a few mistakes. I lost some matches because I was rushing things. I wasn’t patient. That is something you are going to learn. Wrestling in this tournament, I realize I am right up there with the best of them. I have to be more patient, and be more solid in my basic techniques. I have no doubt that the next three World Championships, I will come away with gold, in in Tokyo in 2020, I will come away with gold. This is the first step towards that.”
(staying at 48 kg)
“I feel good here. I feel healthy. I feel strong. I plan on holding down this weight class in America and working to the top here internationally I like it here.”
“She didn’t take any shots. It is cat and mouse and if you want to run out there, it’s fine. This is the kind of tournament you want to be safe. A win is a win. If you come away with a win with taking no shots, power to you. She won fair and square. Not all the time the refs are going to be on your side and in your corner. That is something we know going into the match. All the power is in our hands. And if I keep it close enough to let the ref decide, then that’s my own fault. It’s nobody’s fault but mine.”
“It is frustrating. Sometimes you need those kind of losses to remind you how to be more solid in your wins and how to get a secure win and not leave it in the hands of the ref, or the hands of the coaches or the hands of the block. Blame is on me. I kept it close enough to put it in the ref’s hands. That is frustrating. I need to be more precise in my shooting and I know it is tiring and frustrating to take all the shots and not have anyone shoot against you. The shots I took should have been more accurate.”
“I am planning on going back to school the second semester. I plan to take some time off, a little time away from the mat to recoup and come back hungry for wrestling. I love the sport. I was excited all day to step on the mat. I couldn’t wait for my matches. Even though I didn’t get what I want, I love being out there. It’s fun and that is why I choose to do it. It hurts to lose, but I would do it all over again.”
“These are matches under my belt. I don’t have that many international matches. Sometimes I let that get to me. I don’t know my opponents. I sometimes use that as an excuse. Being an Olympian now, I know I have to hold myself to a higher standard. I am here for a reason, and there is no reason I shouldn’t be beating these girls. I know I am right there with them. I know when I grab onto them that I am stronger, I am faster, I am a better wrestler than them. I made some mistakes today. I am going to walk away and learn from them. I will come back stronger and bring back some medals for my country the next championships and the next Olympic Games.”
After first session
“I feel good now. I was a little upset after my first loss. Seeing her defeat China by a large margin shows she’s at the top of the weight class. I had a good fight. I made a mistake and it was hard for me to come back from that. Unfortunately, it was a loss. I am ready to come back for bronze and I will do whatever it takes to get that bronze medal.”
“I got too high on the high gut and slipped off. She fell right into her leg lace and it gave her a five to seven point lead. That is hard to come back from when you are wrestling a country like Japan who has solid basic defense, and kind of just holds you off. They are not very offensive. They are solid defense. I should have just kept my lead, been patient on top, played it safe. I made a mistake and paid for it.”
“It felt like any tournament. Going out there and starting the match, I was a little shocked at how small (Blaszka) was. It proved I was meant to be here. I picked away at her, got the lead and I was ready for the next match, and was strong in the next match. I had a few mistakes that put me behind.”
“I will just relax, get my body ready for the next match. It is pretty demanding on your body, this sport. You just try to recover the best you can in the 20-30 minutes you have. Now I have 2 ½ hours, and sometimes that’s worse because you get cold and the soreness starts to settle in. But I am pretty tough and don’t worry about it.”
National Greco-Roman Coach Terry Steiner on Wednesday
NBC Video: U.S. coach Terry Steiner discusses Haley Augello's day
After second session
“She has come a long ways in a very short amount of time. As you can see, she is giving everything. She did that. We definitely had trouble getting through her arms. We need to get better than that, to get to those legs. It was a frustrating match from my perspective. I don’t think it was called how it should have been called. Early in the match, they called Haley for passivity. I don’t think it should have been called either way. Nobody had done anything. At the end, when we are pressing and pressing, they were not going to call it back. Usually, when you see it called one way, they call it the other way. But, the bottom line is you can’t come in here hoping for calls. You have to make your own breaks, and do the right things to rise above all of that, and we didn’t do that today.”
“She really can (be successful in the future). But it really comes down to bottling up what she feels now and using that to motivate her to stay on track. It is very hard to win. It can’t be a part time thing. It can’t be a 70% of the time thing. You have got to want to do this 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. You have to do the right things. You have to make the right decisions. If she is willing to do that, and I think she is, Haley does have a really bright future.”
After first session
“I think she forced the par terre situation with the high gut. It is something we had a lot of success lately in the practice room. She feels really confident with it. She just forced it a little. We didn’t need to do that. We were wrestling the perfect match and was in a good situation. That’s the way it goes.”
“She is a very confident young lady. That’s the reason she is on this team. She dares to dream big. That is who she is. She doesn’t fear people to the point that she is not going to open up. That is what I really like about Haley. She goes out and wrestles. You know what you are going to get every time. She is someone who is going to give 100% every time she steps on the mat. She is not going to back down to people or put people on a pedestal. We have some life here. We are back in this thing. Coming away with a bronze medal would really mean something. She needs that for herself. We need that for this team and we need that for the organization. Hopefully we can get that done.”
“When you can’t get (gold), then you got to get the next best thing. Leaving here with a bronze, I know it is not gold, but it is going to mean something days, weeks, months and years from now. You don’t get many chances at this. Not at this stage, at the Olympic Games. She has to make the most of it, and do whatever she has to do to get on the podium.”
“There are no secrets. We know everyone. They know us too. They have never really felt Haley. They don’t know what she is like. She is deceivingly very strong, physically strong, and that catches a lot of people off-guard. We know these people. They know us. They know what we do. We just need to get out there and battle.”
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