7/29/2010
Written By: Iowa State Sports Information Department
Category: Collegiate Corner  

AMES - When a single university has five Olympic gold medals in a single sport, people usually take notice.

That is the case for the Iowa State University wrestling program. Former Cyclone wrestlers Glen Brand, Dan Gable, Ben Peterson, Kevin Jackson and Cael Sanderson have all reached the highest level of their sport.

When U.S.A. Wrestling decided to make a documentary about the road to the 2012 Olympics in London, England, Iowa State was a natural place to come.

"The reason we chose to come to Iowa State University is because of head coach Kevin Jackson and (former coach) Bobby Douglas," project manager J.D. Oliva said. "Iowa State is a legendary wrestling school. They have five gold medalists and that is the point of the documentary."

With the Olympics getting ever closer, wrestlers are trying to get to the top of their game for tournaments such as the World Championships that will help them prepare for the rigors of the Olympics.

U.S.A. Wrestling knows that Jackson is a good person to talk to about the process leading up to the Olympics.

"A lot of people think that when someone wins an NCAA title that they should automatically go out and win World and Olympic titles," Jackson said. "They do not realize that it is a huge jump. You really have to buy into the system and train full-time, and make huge improvements in your game. I think that going from NCAA champion to World and Olympic champion is just as big of a jump as going from high school champion to NCAA champion."

Jackson won the Freestyle World Championships in 1991 and 1995, and became Iowa State's fourth Olympic Gold Medalist at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Jackson became the head coach for the U.S.A. Freestyle Wrestling Team in 2001, and in 2004 in Athens, Greece he helped Cael Sanderson become the fifth Cyclone wrestler to win an Olympic Gold Medal. In 2008 Jackson coached Henry Cejudo to an Olympic Gold in Beijing, China.

U.S.A. Wrestling's documentary intends to focus on the roots of team success that they have had in the past, and are looking to achieve again in 2012.

"We really want to see where the real roots of team success came from, and when a college has been as successful as Iowa State has, it is clear that the road for success runs right through Ames," Oliva said.