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reverse lift which struck fear in his oppo- nents. That is, except for Matt Ghaffari, who battled Karelin gamely while other heavyweights just rolled over for him. “I believed I could beat him and I knew
he was beatable,” said Ghaffari. “The first time I wrestled him, I lost 11-1. They called it a moral victory. People couldn’t believe I scored on him. I assumed he was a man and put his pants on, one leg at a time. He was stronger and more experienced, but I was more determined. It is like I tell young wrestlers. Face your fears, face your demons and try your moves. Just go out, scrap and battle.” The general public found out about
Ghaffari at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga., where he won the Olympic silver medal. He won all of his preliminary bouts to reach the finals, where he lost dramatic 1-0 overtime bout to Karelin with the entire world watching. “I was doing really good. The gold
medal was there for me. We went into overtime, and he got a point going out of bounds. It’s like in boxing. You can’t tie the champ. You have to take it away from him. Karelin was very strong. It was a good battle,” said Ghaffari. The international media attention came
during the medal ceremony, when Ghaffari cried on the podium while the Russian national anthem was played. “I was crying for winning the silver. I
was so sad for letting my country down and myself down. I wanted to hear the U.S. national anthem. I didn’t hear our music and that’s when my heart broke,” said Ghaffari. “Afterwards, I got so many telegrams and phone calls. People said I represented my country with honor.” In addition to his Olympic medal,
Ghaffari had two World silver medals (1991, 1998) and a World bronze medal (1995). He also won gold medals at the World Cup four times, as well as the Pan American Championships twice. Ghaffari consistently won medals when he com- peted at international events. It was a time frame when the U.S. started having more success on the world stage in Greco-Roman and he was a leader in that development. “We were not tourists. My job was to
win medals. All of the referees watch the international events and if you compete well, you get the benefit of the doubt. Like the wrestlers from the strong coun- tries, every tournament they go like it’s the Olympics or the World Championships. When Dennis Koslowski was national coach and he recruited me into Greco-Roman, he said to let it all hang out there. He inspired me to give it
Ghaffari finished second to Russian Alexander Karelin at the 1996 Olympics.
100 percent every time,” said Ghaffari. Ghaffari reached the finals of the 2000
U.S. Olympic Trials, where he lost to a young star named Rulon Gardner. It was the end of Ghaffari’s career, and the launching pad for Gardner, who beat Karelin and won the Olympics later that summer. Another young competitor who battled Ghaffari was Dremiel Byers, who won a 2002 World title and boasts three World medals. “Steel makes steel sharper. For the
United States, the Greco-Roman heavy- weight was the dominant weight class. I handed the legacy and the baton on to those athletes. By training and competing with me, they all got tougher. The results prove it. I always believed that if you focused on the international ranking that the U.S. ranking would take care of itself,” he said. Ghaffari turned his attention to his
career and family, and established his home in the Cleveland area. He received an MBA and pursued a business career. He and wife Amy have four children. His oldest daughter is getting ready for col- lege, with two twin daughters preparing for high school. His youngest son is now 12 years old. His daughters are active in sports, participating in swimming, soccer and running. His son plays baseball and wrestles. Matt has helped coach his kids’ sports teams and is involved in their many other activities. In his current position, Ghaffari serves
as Brand Manager for Mallory and ACCEL, working with products in the automotive industry. “Performance is performance. You
want to compete and be the best, whether it is in wrestling or business.
Every day, I look forward to going to work and being better. I use the discipline I got from wrestling. I get to work early, work very hard, am results-oriented and try to be consistent,” he said. Ghaffari remains involved in wrestling,
serving as a volunteer coach for a num- ber of programs. He was the Honorary Chairman of the U.S. Open this year, held in his hometown of Cleveland. “I enjoyed promoting the tournament,
talking to coaches, getting on the radio and trying to get people to watch wrestling. I said that if you won’t get to the London Olympics or the Olympic Trials, this would be the closest you can get to the Olympics. It was fun having the Open in Cleveland the last two years. You get your juices flowing again,” he said.
Ghaffari tries to keep in touch with his
many friends from wrestling, and has found that they remain close although separated by location and time. “That is the legacy of our sport. My teammates are my brothers. Although I may not see them much, when we get together, it is like we are coming out of practice together. Nothing has changed. One of the things I miss the most about wrestling is the relationships,” he said. Ghaffari enjoys encouraging young
people to get involved in wrestling. “In wrestling, you make progress when
you don’t even know it. The gains are not noticeable. You are a lot further along than you think. If you keep your focus, you will get better every day. Champions are champions in everything, not just wrestling. I tell them to become a better person and to do their best in everything,” said Ghaffari.
13 USA Wrestler
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