Gold Rush

While MMA isn’t included in the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England, fight fans can still get their combat fi x by watching these six wrestlers who have the best chance of taking home U.S. gold.

The American Freestyle Wrestling Team has captured an individual gold medal in every Olympics since 1972. However, with fewer weight classes and with second-string Russian monsters joining teams like Azerbaijan and Turkey, the 2012 Olympics could be the Stars and Stripes’ most diffi cult Olympics in more than 40 years.

ELLIS COLEMAN
GRECO-ROMAN: 66KG (145 LBS.)

Like 2008 Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo, Ellis Coleman began training for his Olympic dreams right after graduating from high school. The Chicago-native moved to Northern Michigan where his athleticism quickly made him one of the most recognizable figures in U.S. wrestling. His “Flying Squirrel” was a viral video and was deemed one of the top three plays of 2011 on SportsCenter. Coleman will have one of the most diffi cult weight classes in the tournament, but if America has a young star, it’s Coleman—he’s shown a knack for fi nding the medal stand in almost every international tournament he’s entered.

JORDAN BURROUGHS
FREESTYLE: 74KG (163 LBS.)

Burroughs is the baddest man on the planet wearing wrestling shoes. His Twitter handle (@alliseeisgold) belies just how confident the 24-year-old New Jersey native feels heading into the London Games. He’s certainly earned the swagger. In 2011, Burroughs had arguably the most accomplished single season of amateur wrestling in the past 20 years. He won his second NCAA title, the Pan Am Games, the World Cup, and the World Championship—after taking three years off from freestyle competition. There is no secret to Burroughs’ success—he has THE most explosive double leg in the history of Olympic wrestling, and despite having been heavily scouted by the likes of Sergei Beloglazov (Russian wrestling badass), none of the new strategies have worked to stop what seems to be an inevitable gold medal for America.

JAKE VARNER
FREESTYLE: 96KG (211 LBS.)

The second-coming of Olympic gold medalist Cael Sanderson, Jake Varner is a 2011 World bronze medalist. He’s tough to take down and almost impossible to push out of the circle (one point in freestyle wrestling). Varner has been one of America’s most reliable wrestlers for years, and his defense will almost certainly earn him a medal, but it likely won’t be the gold. In May, Varner was demolished by Reza Yazdani of Iran at the 2011 World Cup. That loss was a wakeup call for the 26-year-old year California native. Although Varner and Sanderson will prepare for the Persian monster together, there is only a slim chance he can pull off the upset.

JAKE HERBERT
FREESTYLE: 84KG (185 LBS.)

A 2009 World silver medalist, Herbert failed to place in 2010 and didn’t even make the U.S. Team in 2011, losing to 2004 Olympic Champion Cael Sanderson at the World Team Trials. Sanderson, who went on to place fi fth in 2011, was testing the viability of an Olympic comeback but ultimately decided to sit out the London Games. Herbert fought through a tough American fi eld at the trials to earn his first Olympic birth.

Herbert, who trains with an elite team of freestylers in Ann Arbor, Michigan, under the tutelage of former U.S.A. Freestyle Coach of the Year Sean Bormet, has been kicking ass in overseas competition. He’s 3-0 against the two World Champions, even avenging his 2009 finals loss to the Azerbaijani.

A Pittsburgh native and close friend of UFC light heavyweight Phil Davis, Herbert has the potential to destroy every opponent he faces. More than any wrestler in the tournament, Herbert gets stronger as the competition progresses. On the other hand, he’s also known for being a slow starter. Should he find his flow in the first round, he’s a dangerous quarterfinal, semifi nal, and finals opponent.

JUSTIN (HARRY) LESTER
GRECO-ROMAN: 74KG (163 LBS.)

Don’t call it a comeback. Lester, a two-time World bronze medalist (2006, 2007) had been the gold medal favorite in Greco-Roman heading into the 2008 Olympic Games. It was supposed to be a cakewalk, but Lester suffered the biggest upset in U.S. Trials history when he lost to 18-year-old high schooler Jake Deitchler.

Pissed off at the qualification process—which he felt put too much emphasis on one match—Lester retired. He made his comeback before the 2011 World Team Trials as a member of the Army World Class Athlete Program. If recent results are any indication, things are really looking up for Lester. He defeated the 2011 World bronze medalist Manuchar Tskhadaia of Georgia at the Curby Cup in mid-May.

CLARISSA CHUN
WOMEN’S FREESTYLE: 48KG (106 LBS.)

America’s first two-time women’s Olympic wrestler, the 31-year-old Hawaiian started her wrestling career as a judoka. She moved to the mainland in 1999 to wrestle, despite having never competed in a significant tournament. That decision lead her to Colorado Springs, where she knocked off 2004 bronze medalist Patricia Miranda in the finals of the Trials to make the 2008 Olympic Team. She didn’t place, but she was able to win the World Championship a few months after the Olympic Games. When Chun’s on (she stands roughly 4’11”), she can be one of the stealthiest wrestlers in the world. Gold is within her reach.