Continued from page 13
with me. It didn’t matter to me who they picked. I had a game plan and I was planning on winning a gold medal.” Varner’s win came two days after Jordan Burroughs struck gold for the U.S. When Burroughs won, Varner was back at the American team’s train- ing facility at the University of East London. “I watched all of Jordan’s matches on television,”
Varner said. “I was pretty excited when he won, but you have to keep your emotions under control because you are trying to get yourself ready to com- pete. There was a little bit of jealousy when he won because I wanted to do that too. I didn’t sleep for the next few nights because I wanted to win so badly. Absolutely, it gave me a boost when Jordan won. It got things rolling for the U.S. and got me pumped up to compete.” Varner cashed in with his win in London, earning $250,000 for winning an Olympic gold medal from the Living the Dream Medal Fund.
“I haven’t done anything big with the money yet,” he said. “I will try to invest it the right way and try to save a lot of it.
“What they’ve done with Living the Dream is pretty awesome. It’s great to have that opportunity to win that kind of money. It’s great for wrestling. It’s great to have that kind of backing and support. It just makes it a lot easier on us.” Like Varner, Burroughs has decided to keep wrestling. Olympic bronze medalist Coleman Scott and World bronze medalist Tervel Dlagnev also are continuing their freestyle careers into this four-year Olympic cycle. “It’s great to see all of these guys still wrestling –
it’s a big thing for the U.S.,” Varner said. “There were some guys on our team who didn’t accomplish their goals at the Olympics and they want another shot at it. And for the guys that won, it’s addicting when you have success. You get a little bit of that fame and glory, and you want more of it.” The powerful, 6-foot-1 Varner continues to train with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, where Sanderson serves as the head coach for college powerhouse Penn State.
Sanderson came out of retirement in 2011, and placed fifth at the World Championships while train- ing and competing alongside Varner. “That made a huge difference for me when Cael was on the World Team with me in 2011,” Varner said. “It was pretty exciting to have him on the team with me. It brought me to the next level when I was able to work with him and train with him. Working with him, it just made me want to train harder when I saw how hard he worked.
“The guy is just a phenom. Cael is a great person and someone I really look up to. I have been fortu- nate enough to be coached by him and be able to train with him. It’s been a great situation for me to be in.”
Varner, who just turned 27, trains in a loaded Penn
State wrestling room that includes an abundance of college and international standouts. “It’s a great place to train,” Varner said. “I am prob-
14 USA Wrestler Continued on page 15 Varner takes control against Georgi Gogshelidze of Georgia in the semifinals of the Olympic Games in London. John Sachs photo.
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