2016 U.S. OLYMPIAN - 59 kg GR Thielke lives up to his self-confidence
by Gary Abbott One thing you can count on from Greco-Roman star Jesse
Thielke is his tremendous confidence in his abilities. Since he was young, Thielke set high goals and truly believed he can be the greatest wrestler in the world. A Junior World bronze medalist in Greco-Roman in 2012,
Thielke made his first Senior World Team in 2013 at 60 kg. He placed eighth, a strong effort for a young man in his first Senior World Championships. Thielke also had high goals in college wrestling, which he pur-
sued at the University of Wisconsin. He was a two-year starter and one-time NCAA qualifier for the Badgers. However, this past year, Thielke decided the future was now, and made the move back to the U.S. Olympic Training Center to focus full-time on his Greco-Roman career. At the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Iowa City, it was Thielke
who snapped Spenser Mango’s long run as the No. 1 athlete at the lightest weight. When Mango made the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team, it was his first U.S. Senior-level team. For eight straight years, Mango won the Trials for either the U.S. World Team or U.S. Olympic Team. Thielke met Mango in the semifinals in Iowa City at the Olympic Trials. This time, things were different. In the first peri- od, Thielke took Mango directly to his back and hit a quick gut wrench to lead 6-0. In the second period, after Mango tried an arm throw, Thielke was able to get a counter takedown for the 8-0 technical fall. Mango left his shoes on the mat after the loss, signifying his retirement to a standing ovation from the crowd. Thielke showed great respect for Mango after the win, but did not feel that the result was unexpected. “I am training full time. It’s my time. I am confident. I believe in
it. I am putting in the work. In the past, it was tough making weight, but I just had the easiest cut in my life and it shows. It is my time,” he said. In the finals series, he drew another talented Army star, Ildar Hafizov, the naturalized citizen from Uzbekistan who had wres- tled in the 2008 Olympic Games for his former nation. Thielke continued to wrestle with power and passion, defeating Hafizov in dominant fashion, with a 10-0 technical fall in bout one and a 9-3 win in bout two. “I am just so dedicated and determined. I am a man obsessed. For the last month and a half, literally, this is all that I could think about. It showed and it feels good,” he said after beating Hafizov. “It is my time. I put in the sacrifices every day, with my training. I was doing things I had never done before. I was thinking in different ways than I ever thought before. It all came together.” Thielke knew that the job was not yet done in Iowa City.
Mango and Hafizov fell short in the first two Olympic Qualifiers and the weight class was not yet qualified. It would be Thielke’s job to fight his way into the Rio Games in the last two. After win- ning in Iowa City, Thielke felt very good about his chances. “My biggest worry I have is my par terre, but as we saw here,
that was rock solid. I know I can score on my feet. The guys in the U.S. don’t like to wrestle and open up. The guys overseas do. They try to stay close in the first period. We found out in the Golden Grand Prix that they can’t hang with me. I am going to score no matter what,” he said.
Jesse Thielke battles Ildar Hafizov in the 59 kg finals at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Photo by Tony Rotundo.
He had a setback at the 1st World Olympic Games Qualifier
in Ulan Baatar, Mongolia. In his opening match, Thielke had a commanding 5-0 lead over Gaurav Sharma of India only to be thrown twice late in the match to lose in the closing seconds, 6- 5. Sharma was beaten in his next match, knocking Thielke out of the tournament. Two weeks later, it all came down to the 2nd World Olympic
Games Qualifier in Istanbul, Turkey. This was where Thielke’s confidence would be tested to the limit, and where he showed how tough he really could be with everything on the line. Thielke opened with a pair of decisive wins over 2012 Olympic medalists Peter Modos of Hungary, 8-0, and Revaz Lashkhi of Georgia, 13-6. In the quarterfinals, he picked up a second period fall over Frunze Harutyunyan of Sweden while trailing 4-2 at the time of the fall. In the deciding semifinal match, Thielke scored an impressive
17-8 technical fall over 2014 World University bronze medalist and 2012 World University champion Donior Islamov of Moldova. After giving up a pair of four-point throws early, Thielke got his explosive offense revved up. He closed out the match with a takedown and a gut wrench turn, then celebrated. Thielke had willed himself into the Olympic Games. “It feels good to know that I have punched my ticket. I have
been working for this for my whole life. It was an extra journey, an extra little bit to qualify the weight, but I proved to myself and to everybody else that I am a World competitor,” said Thielke. National Greco-Roman Coach Matt Lindland was very proud
of Thielke’s clutch effort under pressure. “I am super happy to see Jesse get his weight qualified for
the Rio Olympic Games. He had a rough start in the Mongolia qualifier, and for him to bounce back and get it done here in Istanbul was fun to watch. He showed a lot of grit, and dis- played how good he really is. Jesse had to beat some really great wrestlers to get the job done. I am looking forward to tak- ing Jesse to the Olympic Games and I know he is capable of winning the gold,” said Lindland.
USA Wrestler 9
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