A Day in the Life of Olympic Wrestler Robby Smith

Robby Smith, who will represent the U.S. at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, has a long track record of wrestling success. He was a three-time state place winner for San Ramon High School in Danville, California, excelled in the Greco-Roman program at Northern Michigan University, and placed fifth at the World Championships in 2013 and 2015. And thanks to a successful run in the Olympic Team Trials this past spring, Smith will be competing for a medal in Greco-Roman at 130 kg/286 lbs in Rio.

That’s an impressive, well-documented career. But what most wrestling fans rarely see is the behind-the-scenes training and effort that Smith puts in to achieve that. Most of that hard work takes place at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, where he has been a resident athlete for 11 years. Around the OTC, Smith is known for his tenacity on the mat, his big, bushy beard, and his outgoing personality, which has earned him the nickname “the Mayor.” So to get a peek at how a world-class wrestler prepares for the Olympics, we caught up with Smith and talked to him about a day in his life.

7:00 AM: Smith wakes up. First stop—the OTC cafeteria for breakfast. "Nutrition is important and every athlete out here spends a lot of time focusing on eating right," says Smith.

The cafeteria is full of athletes training in all Olympic sports. One day, Smith might eat with tri-athletes, the next day, with bobsledders, another day he might eat with members of the Olympic shooting team, or other fellow wrestlers. Other athletes have questions. They ask about his beard: "Do people grab it when you wrestle?" They ask Smith about the differences between high school and Olympic wrestling, about folkstyle and Greco-Roman. "I tell them Greco-Roman isn't just a style, it's an art form," says Smith. "It's a great opportunity to be an ambassador for the sport."

The athletes talk about traveling. "The bobsled team, those guys travel to the French Alps, Austrian Alps, they get to see some beautiful places," Smith says, while conducting this interview via Facetime from a USA Wrestling training camp in Baku, Azerbaijan. Smith usually spends about 45 minutes to an hour at the cafeteria. Everyone knows him.

"I've been here 11 years," Smith notes. "You can't live in a spot for so long and not make friends."

8:00 AM: Smith heads back to his room to pack up his stuff and prepare for practice.

9:00–11:00 AM: Practice starts with a 20-minute warm up, which usually consists of a team game, such as handball or ultimate goalie. Smith says he's a really "well-rounded handball player" and calls himself a "brick wall" as a goalie. "I'm really hard to score on," he adds. "I'm also a scoring machine. Release the beast!"

After warm up, the wrestlers stretch for 10 minutes and then get down to business. Each practice is different, Smith says, depending on who is leading practice. Matt Lindland is the National Greco-Roman Coach and on this day he has the athletes spend 20 minutes live wrestling on their feet and 20 minutes live par terre (“mat wrestling” in the Olympic styles of wrestling) to get things started. Other days practice may be two 45-minute "goes" or individual technique work, or 45 minutes in par terre. "It's up to the coach," says Smith. "The closer we get to competition, the shorter the practice. No messing around. Get down to business and go hard for that hour." Every practice finishes up with a cool down. "We cool down, stretch, focus on breathing, meditate," says Smith.

11:00 AM: After practice, Smith showers, heads back to his room, and relaxes.

Noon–1:00 PM: Lunch. After a grueling morning practice, it can be easy to want to eat a lot, Smith acknowledges. Especially because "the food is amazing.” He and other athletes have formed a special bond with the OTC cafeteria staff. Smith rattles off names of two or three women who he sees every day working to provide athletes with their nutritional needs. When he first made the Olympic team, Smith made it a point to personally thank cafeteria staff. "Every morning we wake up to their beautiful, smiling faces," he notes. "This is a training center, but it's also a home. These people have supported me the whole time and they work hard every day so we can succeed. When I made the team, I was so happy to see them and thank them for all their hard work."

1:00–3:30 PM: Some down time. Smith may hang out with wrestlers or other athletes, or head back to his room and relax. This rest period is key because at 4:00 PM he has to return for another grueling practice or weightlifting session. "The body hurts. The body aches,” he says. “So rest and recovery is important."

4:00–6:00 PM: Afternoon practice isn’t any easier. This day, it's a mat practice and a weightlifting session. Practice starts out with a 40-minute warmup, which also usually consists of a game. The mat practice consists of 15 minutes of play wrestling, and then varies between live matches, situations, and pyramids, such as 1-2-3, 3-2-1. "We're really grinding out there in the afternoon," Smith says. There are a lot of other heavyweights in the room, too. "The practice room is intense and the partners are really going at it.”

6:00–7:30 PM: The focus is now on recovery. Smith hits the cold tub and the hot tub. Two minutes in the cold tub. Two minutes in the hot tub. "The cold tub sucks, but I feel much better using it," he says. He also may get a massage. "You have to take care of your body," he explains. He spends about 90 minutes in recovery, getting his body right during this time. "I tell people, recovery is the most important part of our sport," he notes. "You don't recover, you can't do what you need to do."

7:30 PM: Dinner. Back to the cafeteria. The focus is on protein and carbohydrates, refueling for recovery and preparing for the next day.

8:30 PM:  Down time. Watch TV. Read. Hang out with his girlfriend. Check in with other wrestlers on the team. The mood is much lighter since the day’s work is done. But he knows the next day is not too far off." You know that 7:00 AM alarm is not too far off," he says. "So you usually relax and try to get to bed early."

Then, he wakes up and does it all over again the next day. And the next day. And the day after that. But this is what he wants.

"It's a grind,” Smith admits. “Your body hurts. But I love it. I love what I do. I love being a role model. I love inspiring people and I want to be the best in the world. I believe if you can dream it, you can do it. That's what it really comes down to. I like lifting heavy things and throwing people and doing that to the best of my ability. I want to be an Olympic Gold Medalist. That's been my dream since I was 9 years old."