Cormier focused on gold medal

• By DAN MCDONALD
• Special to The Advocate
• Published: Jul 29, 2008 - Page: 1C - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.
• Editor’s note: Second in a series of stories on Olympians with Louisiana ties.

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LAFAYETTE — Daniel Cormier knows he should already have an Olympic medal.

That’s little consolation to the former Northside High School wrestling standout, since the entire focus of his life for the past four years has been on one color — gold.

“Any time you get to go to the Olympics, it’s an honor and a privilege,” Cormier said, “but now it’s not about just going there anymore. I went already.”

Cormier was a member of the 2004 U.S. freestyle team at 96kg (211.5 pounds), the weight class he’s dominated nationally for the past six years. At Athens, he went unbeaten in round-robin competition until losing to eventual gold medalist Khadjimurad Gatsalov of Russia in the semifinals.

Crestfallen after that loss, he admittedly lost focus in the bronze-medal match and watched a 2-0 overtime lead vanish in a 3-2 loss to Iran’s Ali Reza Heydari.

“I don’t know what happened,” Cormier said. “I know that four years ago my eyes were wide open. I was in awe of the situation. The Olympic Games can be too much for you if you’re not prepared for it. It’s huge and if you’re not ready for it, you’ll fold. That’s what I did in Athens.

“I’m a better wrestler now, and I’m better mentally, so I think my chances are a lot better because of that.”

The 29-year-old Stillwater, Okla., resident is still an outside shot for gold in Beijing, considering that 96kg is likely the world’s toughest weight class. How tough? Gatsalov, world champion the last three years, didn’t even get out of Russia’s national team trials, and 2007 world silver medalist Saeid Abrahimi of Iran hasn’t lost an international bout since that world meet.

But being an underdog isn’t anything new for Cormier. In fact, considering he had never won an NCAA collegiate title while at Oklahoma State, it was an upset when he won his first senior national title and world team berth in 2003.

That win came amid tragedy, coming less than a month after the tragic death of his three-month-old daughter in an auto accident. USA Wrestling allowed him to compete in a special wrestle-off after the trials, and he won the first of what has become the country’s longest active streak of national titles.

The second of those titles was closely followed by a win in the U.S. team trials.

“When I made the team, it was like, ‘Yes, finally something huge,’” he said. “I was happy and I felt good about it. But I’ve worked hard the last four years and controlled the weight class. That was my opportunity. … I did what I needed to do to get on this Olympic team. It was just another boundary to cross in order to get where I need to be and that’s a gold medal.”

Few people, including Cormier, were thinking gold medals even after he won three state titles (1995-97) while with coach Stephen “Tank” Lotief at Northside. Louisiana, after all, wasn’t the wrestling hotbed that states in the Midwest were, with schools like Iowa and OSU churning out national caliber wrestlers on an annual basis.