WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Lowney made impact


By Gary Abbott Here’s a trivia question: name the recent U.S. Greco-Roman wrestling star who won an Olympic medal prior to wrestling in his first official college match. The answer is Garrett Lowney, who won a bronze medal at


97 kg/213.75 lbs. at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. At that time, Lowney was just 20 years old and had still not competed in a varsity match for the University of Minnesota. American wrestling fans will forever remember the exciting


match in Sydney, when Lowney tossed five-time World champi- on Gogui Kogouachvili of Russia with a five-point back-soup- lesse throw in overtime for a stunning upset victory. “I remember I scored a quick takedown and followed it up


with a two-point turn. From then on it was a very tough battle, with neither of us scoring for most of the match,” said Lowney. “Toward the end, the official called me for passivity resulting in me being placed on bottom to give the Russian a chance to score a turn. The official followed up with a phantom leg call and gave the Russian two points. That resulted in a temporary mental lapse for me where I allowed him to score another one- point turn. In overtime, because of my preparation, I was in bet- ter condition and threw him on his head for a five-point throw and the victory.” He went on to reach the semifinals, where he was defeated


and injured by Sweden’s star Mikael Ljungberg, who went on to take the Olympic gold. In spite of being in severe pain, Lowney battled back the next day in the bronze-medal match to defeat Konstantinos Thanos of Greece. “That night I was lying in bed in agony because I couldn’t


move my head without excruciating pain. I was considering for- feiting the bronze medal match,” said Lowney. “I started thinking about how there are no guarantees in life. Just because I was only 20 doesn’t mean I will ever have this opportunity again. I laid in bed staring at the ceiling. I started thinking about my upcoming match. In every scenario, I was the victor. I drifted off to sleep with my mind still wandering. When I woke up, there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to win. I wasn’t nerv- ous at all. I was focused, prepared, and eventually became a bronze medalist.” In high school, he captured three Wisconsin state titles and


was a star in USA Wrestling’s age-group programs. Lowney won an impressive five Junior National titles, three in Greco- Roman and two in freestyle. He got involved in the international styles to find the best wrestlers to compete against and train with.


“Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling was a way for me to


get out of my comfort zone,” said Lowney. “Self preservation is the strongest instinct we have. By getting outside of your com- fort zone, you artificially create feelings of self preservation which heightens your senses and shortens your learning curve.” Lowney decided to sign with Minnesota, which was coached


by J Robinson. “My biggest draw to Minnesota was the camaraderie of the


team,” said Lowney. “The guys on the team honestly liked each other and spent time together outside of the wrestling room. I


12 USA Wrestler


American Garrett Lowney tries to break free during the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.


felt like I really fit in with the current team and the new recruits coming in. I knew I couldn’t reach my goals alone and needed a network of support around me to pick me up, knock me down and challenge my will. But the final decision was when I was accepted into their prestigious business school, the Carlson School of Management.” Lowney took a redshirt year his first season in Minnesota. He qualified for the 1999 U.S. Junior World Team in Greco-Roman and went to Bucharest, Romania, winning the Junior World title at 97 kg. After the victory, Lowney and his coaches believed he had a real chance to make Olympic team, and he took a special Olympic redshirt year in 1999-2000. He had a successful 2000 Olympic year, placing second at


the U.S. Nationals, then defeating 1996 Olympian Jason Gleasman in the finals of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Dallas, Texas. “What allowed me to burst onto the scene at such a young


age was coaching and practice partners,” said Lowney. “I had Marty Morgan and Dan Chandler for Greco coaches along with


Continued on page 13


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44