Olympic
Wrestler Reported by Statewide correspondent, Brad
Penner.
[Matt
Lindland] "That's it. 10
seconds.
Go for it. Go for it. Go for it."
Desire drives Matt Lindland. [Lindland]
"I have never been able to say I'm the very best yet. So I guess I've beaten
a lot of world champions and I've beaten Olympic champions but I haven't been
one myself, and I think that's just kind of what's been driving me for so
long."
Matt Lindland can prove he is the best at the Olympics in Sydney. His journey
there began when he was a kid but it picked up speed when his career as a Nebraska
wrestler ended. [Lindland]
"I was really disappointed that I didn't win a NCAA title my senior year. I
was picked to win it and I got beat, you know, and those things happen. What
I started to think about was, you know, what else is there as far as this sport.
I mean I really like doing it. Well, it's become my life now. But at that time
I was just kind of like well, I want to be the champion, you know. I want to
be the champion of the nation, you know, and then it's kind of like ok, I want
to be the best in the world. That's kind of what has kept pushing me for so
long to keep going."
What is it that put that drive in you to be a world champion? [Lindland]
"Maybe obsessive compulsive behavior, I don't know. I don't know. It seems
like when I set out to do something, I've always continued to do it until
I've completed the task. I might have, you know, stepped at the end of the
board a little bit and said this is quite a task I set out in front of myself
but, you know, I just can't see myself stopping until I've accomplished my
goal."
Matt finds more motivation at home. His 8-year-old son James and 5-year-old
daughter Robin. [Lindland]
"You know, I want to make my family proud of me. I want them to see that their
dad is successful and he doesn't quit."
Angie Lindland has stayed home to raise James and Robin while Matt pursues his
dream. [Lindland]
"You know, the thing about my wife is she's just been incredibly supportive
throughout my whole career and everything I've done."
[Angie]
"I want more than anything for him to be able to go and accomplish his dreams
because I know he can do it and I know how hard he's worked."
[Lindland]
"Your foot stuck? Big shoes."
When Matt's at home, he spends a lot of time with his family, but the lifestyle
of a world class athlete isn't typical. [Lindland]
"Takes me away from her and the kids a lot more than they probably deserve.
You know, this year alone I was on five different continents and those trips
aren't really that short. I think she just kind of wants her life back."
[Angie]
"Yeah, I get a lot of reaction when people ask me what my husband does."
Angie Lindland admits there are times she wanted her husband to quit but he
didn't and she has no regrets. [Angie]
"I mean I guess it's one of the reasons why I love him so much because he hasn't
quit. There's been lots of times that, you know, we've fought about it, and
I think every time I think he should quit, he talks me into, you know, making
sure we keep doing it and when he feels like quitting, I'm there to say, no,
this is your dream, this is what we're going to do, we'll be fine, you know."
[Lindland]
"It takes a lot of commitment to everything. I think it takes a commitment to
your family first of all that you're going to be there when they need you and
also it takes a commitment to yourself to saying, well, when I need to train,
I need to train and that's my time." [Angie]
"I love him because he is who he is. I could care less if he goes to the Olympics.
The only reason why I want that for him is because he wants it so badly and
it hurts me to see bad things written about him or just the hard times that
he goes through. But he's worked really, really hard. The kids have sacrificed
a lot and so have I. He deserves it."
Matt believes he deserves his spot on the Olympic team even though he had to
go to court to get it. He lost at the Olympic trials but appealed. [Lindland]
"The match wasn't scored correctly and the protest procedures weren't followed
correctly by the organization. They didn't give me a fair and equitable hearing
in front of my peers."
An arbitrator ordered a rematch. Lindland won convincingly. Then came more appeals
and weeks of uncertainty. Finally a federal judge ordered Olympic officials
to put Matt Lindland back on the team.
When this stuff like this happens, you see man, is it worth it? But, you know,
the long term, yeah. You know, I've put in the time and this has always been
my goal and I have never quit on the mat so why would I quit, you know, doing
something like this, you know. It's been tough and it's been a lot of battles
but I never thought about quitting. I've continued to train like I was going
to be on the team all along. [Brad
Vering, Husker wrestler] "But for him, it's starting to get to be that time
where he needs to start peaking. We're going to get after him and beat him up
a little bit today. Hopefully."
Current Husker wrestler Brad Vering won an NCAA championship last season with
the help of Matt Lindland. Now Vering is returning the favor. [Vering]
"He is one of my icons for wrestling. He is one of my heroes. If he can go on
-- that's one of my dreams, you know, is to do what he is doing right now. You
know, I just wish the best for him and hope that I can help him in whatever
way and he has done a lot for me in college wrestling. I just want him to do
the best."
Matt Lindland has been among the world's best for years. He is a four-time national
champion and he won the Pan Am game the last two years. [Lindland]
"I have had a lot of international success. I have been the national champion
for four years in a row. I've been on the last three World teams. I've placed
at the Worlds. I've placed in numerous international tournaments but, you
know, I think the ultimate is to just one day say I'm the best in the world.
If that happens at the Olympic games or if that happens at the World championships,
you know, all along I've wanted to say that."
Good luck to
you.
Matt Lindland's
attempt to be the best starts on Sunday in Sydney.
Captioning by Nebraska
Captioning Center, Lincoln, Nebraska .
Olympic
Wrestler
