Wrestlers here to work, not gawk

ATHENS, Greece - They don't go chasing autographs when NBA star Allen Iverson walks through the Olympic Village. Or swoon when U.S. softball poster girl Jennie Finch ambles past.

For Cael Sanderson, Joe Williams and the rest of the U.S. freestyle wrestling team, the picture-taking moments are saved for the medal stand.

Members of the American team said Monday that keeping alive a string of at least one gold medal in the sport dating back to 1968 requires focus - not fawning over the famous.

``It's cool to see those big-name athletes,'' said Cael Sanderson, the four-time NCAA champion at Iowa State and U.S. entry at 185 pounds. ``But that's not why I came.''

Just a handful of the 10,500 competitors in Athens have to show more reserve and patience than freestyle wrestlers, the hurry-up-and-wait athletes of the 2004 Olympics.

Freestyle wrestling begins Aug. 27, two days before Closing Ceremonies. Instead of filling days and nights with the sights and sounds of ancient Athens, the team plows through two-a-day practices and individual workouts at the American College of Greece - away from the bustle of the Olympic Village.

``I think if you get too caught up in `This is the Olympics, there's so-and-so and so-and-so', it wears on you,'' said Williams, a three-time NCAA champ at the University of Iowa who will wrestle at 163 pounds. ``I don't want anything on my mind except for what I'm doing.''

Sanderson and Williams, who competed at rival colleges, are two of three on the seven-man team who have won a world-level medal.

Former Penn State star Kerry McCoy, at 264.5 pounds, and Sanderson each won silver at the World Championships last year in New York, while Williams finished with a 2001 world bronze.

Sanderson's biggest obstacle to a gold is expected Russian entry Sazhid Sazhidov, who beat Sanderson 4-3 for the World Championship a year ago.

The favorite at 163 will be Russia's Buvaysa Saytiev, a 1996 gold medal winner with five world-level golds.

Sanderson, reluctantly, owns the most notoriety and expectations for the freestyle team, which U.S. assistant coach and Iowa State coach Bobby Douglas calls ``the most talented team that we've ever had.''

The Heber City, Utah, native, became the first undefeated four-time NCAA champ when he finished 159-0.

Sanderson, whose Iowa State career was called the No. 2 college achievement ever by Sports Illustrated, fidgets and flees when it's suggested that he has become the face of his sport.

``I'm just one of seven people here trying to do the best they can,'' he said.

Tom Brands, another U.S. assistant coach, won a gold medal in 1996 after a three-title career at the University of Iowa.

Brands said the work-first mentality hasn't surprised him.

``These guys aren't those people that come here for all that other stuff,'' Brands said. ``These guys really believe they can win. They're here for business first.''

Brands avoided the hype and hoopla, too, when he chased a medal in Atlanta - skipping post-Olympic perks such as a trip to the White House.

``I was mowing the lawn the next day,'' Brands said. ``My neighbor comes by and says, `It's kind of funny seeing you on TV two nights ago winning, and now you're mowing the lawn.' ''

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