20 QUESTIONS WITH... Patrick Martinez
Patrick Martinez was a high school state champion in California, and competed in college at Wyoming and the Univ. of Nebraska-Kearney. After college, he made a decision to pursue a Greco-Roman career at the Olympic level. In 2015, Martinez won his first U.S. Open title, then made the 2015 U.S. World Team at 80 kg. He wrestled three tough matches in Las Vegas at Worlds, and is now ranked No. 18 in the World by UWW. 1. What did you like most about wrestling when you got involved as a kid? I liked when my Grandpa would drive me to practices and he would tell me stories the whole way. 2. Do you have a favorite wrestling style? All three wrestling styles are great in their own respect, but my personal favorite is Greco-Roman. 3. What coach from your past would you like to thank most for helping you and why? I would like to thank Coach Ahad Javansalehi. He has taught me many lessons on and off the mat that I will never forget. 4. How tough is high school wrestling in California, and how did you feel when you won states there? High school wrestling in California is one of the toughest is the country. Winning state in California was a long-earned process. It will always be special to me because that was one of the last times my dad was in my corner as a coach. 5. Who is your favorite wrestler and why? Two-time Olympic champion and three-time World champion
Hamza Yerlikaya from Turkey is my favorite. We have similar body types and wrestle the same weight. I watch a lot of film on him. 6. You’ve lived in places like California, Wyoming, Nebraska, Florida and Colorado. Which did you like best and why?
California will always have a special place in my heart, but Colorado is starting to grow on me. I can’t get enough of the mountains.
7. When did you decide to pursue Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling?
May of 2014.
8. What is your favorite move in Greco-Roman? Arm throw 9. You like watching movies. What are your favorites? My favorite movie of all time is Gladiator. Tuesday is discount movie night at the theater so I try and stay up to date with all the new releases. The best movie I’ve seen recently is The Martian.
10. What was the key reason you feel you made the
World Team in 2015? Ever since I started training Greco, I fell in love with wrestling again. I devoted everything to the sport that I love. Having a professional attitude and putting in the extra work, day in and day out, helped me make the World team. 11. How cool was it to compete at the World Championships on our home mats in Las Vegas? Awesome!! That was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will never forget. Hearing the chants of U-S-A gave me goose bumps. 12. Tell us something that the wrestling community does not know about you.
U.S. Greco-Roman World Team member Patrick Martinez has make rapid progress. Tony Rotundo photo.
I grew up on a citrus farm in southern California. 13. You have a day off from training, how do you spend
it?
It seems like I always spend the days off doing laundry. 14. What is your favorite foreign city you have visited and
why?
Budapest, Hungary. It’s a great city with a lot of things to do, plenty of historical architecture to visit and all of the people I have met there are very friendly. 15. It’s the Olympic year. Will it be 75 kg or 85 kg, or have you not yet decided?
I will be competing at 85 kg this year.
16. What would you like to do when you finish your com- petitive wrestling career?
I can’t imagine living without wrestling. I’m sure I will stay involved, some way or another.
17. Who do you like working out with the most, and why does that help you?
Andy Bisek. Having a two-time World medalist in the room every day is a great asset to me. 18. What is your favorite sport outside of wrestling and
why? I like watching basketball; I’m a huge Lakers fan. I like to play
soccer. It is challenging and builds great foot-eye coordination. 19. What victory in your career do you take the most pride in?
Winning the 2015 U.S. Open.
20. Describe the dream you envision of winning an Olympic gold medal.
That is a dream of a lifetime. I don’t think I could just stop at one. 21 USA Wrestler
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