20 QUESTIONS WITH... Dom Bradley Dom Bradley is one of the top young heavyweight wrestlers in
the World. The past Junior World champion delivered a breakthrough performance to win a U.S. Open freestyle title on April 19 in Las Vegas.
Bradley knocked off past World bronze medalist and Olympian Tervel Dlagnev in the finals at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. With his win, Bradley clinched a spot in the finals of June’s
U.S. World Team Trials in Stillwater, Okla. Bradley, who just completed his All-American career at Missouri, took time out of his busy schedule to talk recently with USA Wrestler:
1. Favorite movie?
Django and Friday Night Lights. 2. Favorite TV show? Duck Dynasty, SportsCenter and King of Queens. 3. What kind of music do you listen to in your iPod before you compete?
I listen to a lot of rap and R&B to calm my nerves. 4. Favorite food when not watching your weight? Chipotle and a strawberry shake. 5. Favorite sport other than wrestling? Football and basketball. I’m a huge fan of both. 6. Favorite athlete to watch in another sport? Kobe Bryant. I love his competiveness. Kobe has no fear and knows he is the best.
7. Favorite wrestler and why?
Greg Jones. I loved his double legs and defense. I can’t shoot doubles as fast as him, but I try and not give up takedowns like him.
8. Best piece of advice you've received? Compete for yourself and give it all you have. Six minutes is not that long.
9. What kind of advice would you give a younger wrestler who is just taking up the sport? Have fun. Wrestling is such a great sport and it will teach you discipline, responsibility and commitment - all important things you need in life.
10. Best moment as a wrestler so far? Winning the 2013 U.S. Open. 11. Name three people you would love to invite to dinner? Muhammad Ali, Kobe Bryant and Jackie Robinson. 12. What is one thing you are afraid of? Deep water. I can't swim well.
13. How did you become involved in wrestling? I was about 8 years old. I tried to do football and I quit because there was too much running involved. Little did I know I would pick the sport with the most running. My father was a wrestler in high school and made me do it because I was a little chubby kid.
14. How were you able to regroup after placing fourth at the NCAA tournament? I really had a great talk with my father and one of my high school coaches, Matt Cox. I went to Florida for spring break with my friends. I didn't look at a thing involving wrestling for a week and did not work out for a week. By the end of the week, I was ready to give it all I had and fully commit myself to wrestling again.
Dom Bradley celebrates after winning a U.S. Open freestyle title on April 19 in Las Vegas. Tony Rotundo photo.
15. Any idea what you will do when you stop competing? I hope to be a college wrestling coach when I am done com- peting. I want give back to the sport that has given me so much in my life.
16. What was the best part about being a training partner at the Olympics?
Seeing Jordan Burroughs, Jake Varner and Coleman Scott complete their lifelong dreams by competing in the Olympics and getting medals. I will never forget those matches. Also, get- ting to be around successful people really motivated me to do great things.
17. What are your goals for international wrestling? World champion and Olympic champion. 18. Coolest place you've traveled to and why? London. I love the city. It was such a great atmosphere to be in. I really liked the people there.
19. What was it like to wrestle at Missouri? It was an awesome experience. I got to be around a lot of great wrestlers and got to represent my home state. It doesn't get much better than that.
20. Funniest guy on the team and why?
Brent Haynes and Jake Glore are probably some of the funni- est guys I have ever met. When I was down in the dumps, those guys could always get me out of it.
21 USA Wrestler
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