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Wrestling meet delayed: Decision in wake of attack gives Sissaouri unexpected break

September 18, 2001

DAVE STUBBSThe Gazette

Olympic freestyle wrestling silver medalist and three-time
world-championship podium finisher Gia Sissaouri is taking an unscheduled
break from the mat.
Sissaouri and fellow Montreal Wrestling Club member Mikheil Japardize will
not be traveling to New York next week, the world amateur wrestling
championships at Madison Square Garden having been postponed indefinitely
because of last week's terrorist attacks.
Canada was to send seven male and eight female freestyle wrestlers and eight
men in the Greco-Roman discipline. The Sept. 26 to 29 meet was expected to
attract nearly 700 athletes from 82 nations, the largest worlds in the
event's history. "I was expecting a postponement, and I understand it, but
I'm disappointed because I was getting really sharp," said Sissaouri,
trained by Victor Zilberman and Rob Moore. "I've trained with everything
planned for Sept. 26 (the date his 58-kg class was to open)."
Milan Ercegan, president of FILA, wrestling's world governing body, said the
postponement was an expression of "our solidarity with the sorrow of the
American people following the tragic events that recently occurred," adding
the meet was suspended out of "respect for the families of the persons who
died or disappeared, and for security reasons for (meet) participants."
USA Wrestling, which requested the postponement, has two weeks to present
new plans to FILA for a New York meet, or surrender it to another venue. It
probably will be held in October or November.
Ian Grant, president of the Quebec Wrestling Federation, learned of the
postponement Sunday night as he endured one flight cancellation after
another en route home to Montreal from Las Vegas.
"Organizers were in negotiations with the U.S. State Department, since many
of the top athletes come from Iran (the top-ranked wrestling nation) and
Afghanistan," Grant said. "It seems the authorities didn't want the hassle
of bringing these wrestlers, coaches and trainers into the U.S. right now."
"I think the magnitude of the tragedy kind of warranted it," said Canadian
Olympic champion Daniel Igali from Surrey, B.C. "It's good to show some kind
of respect for the dead."
Sissaouri, 30, suffered a disappointing 13th-place finish at the 2000 Sydney
Olympics, four years after having won the silver medal in Atlanta, but
decided to continue in the sport after some soul-searching.
In recent months, the native of Georgia has won his weight class at the
national championships and the Canada Cup, being named outstanding wrestler
at the latter event in Winnipeg that featured Iranian and American wrestlers.
Sissaouri and Japardize, 54 kg, will continue to train while waiting to hear
when the meet will take place.

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Freshman wrestles stereotypes

By SARAH TROTTO
Staff writer - Erie Times-News
Article published Sep 13, 2001

She covers her diamond belly button ring with medical tape before matches. She hides her shoulder-length blond hair underneath a red cap similar to the ones
swimmers wear. She dresses in a separate locker room, down the hall from her male teammates.

With her long hair and jewelry concealed, Esther Graves, 14, walks onto the wrestling mat looking like a boy. Her biceps are as big as most of her male opponents',
and at 103 pounds she's as skinny as some of them.

Graves deserves to wrestle because she has a positive attitude and never misses a practice at Fort LeBoeuf High School, said coach Paul Cousins.

In spite of hecklers and doubters, Graves said she's willing to stick with wresting as long as she can maintain her weight near 103 pounds.

"That's the bet everyone has; that no girl can do wrestling," said Graves, a sophomore. "I can do it. It's difficult because Fort LeBoeuf is a really good team
and we work hard. But after a couple years, I just got used to it."

As the only female to wrestle for Fort LeBoeuf's varsity team, Graves is in the minority. Last year, she was one of two females to compete for the junior varsity team, where she won nine matches and lost six.

All 13 weight classes were filled last year on Fort LeBeouf's varsity team, and Graves wrestled in only one varsity match. She lost to Cathedral Prep's Chris Wise in
the second period. Wise, ranked third in the state at the time, plans to wrestle for Mercyhurst College this year. He pinned Graves in 17 seconds.

At least 2,600 high school girls participate in wrestling, said Gary Abbott, director of special projects at USA Wrestling. Only Texas and Hawaii have girls' high school wrestling at the state championship level.

One of a handful of female wrestlers in the Erie area, Graves is heckled often. Last year three opponents forfeited against her, but Graves feels accepted by her
teammates, some of whom think she could probably pin them, Cousins said.

"It's pretty neat that a girl is showing she can do what guys can do," said sophomore 130-pounder Joe Zarzeczny, one of Graves' teammates. "I'd say she's better than half the guys on the (junior varsity) team."

Zarzeczny said he's trained with Graves, but has never lost to her. He said many boys fear her because they don't want to be ridiculed for losing to a girl. Graves
pinned her first opponent from Fairview High School and others have reacted with tears or hid in the locker room after they lost.

"Some people cry. They walk away, slam their headgear and get all mad," Graves said. "I don't know why they do that. They shouldn't just expect only guys to
wrestle."

Besides negative reaction, Graves said she's had to deal with other gender conflicts. Male wrestlers usually weigh in before matches in their underwear. Graves weighs in wearing her sports bra and shorts.

Graves, who stands at 5-foot-1, started wrestling in the seventh grade. She accepted a bet from her friend and fellow female teammate, Tassia Chamberlin, who has
wrestled since the first grade.

Chamberlin, whose father coached Fort LeBoeuf Middle School's wrestling team, said she didn't think Graves would last on the team.

"It is a big challenge," Graves said. "When you win, it feels so good. It's kind of like an individual sport."

Chamberlin said she might not wrestle this year because she's heavier than her wrestling weight of 112 pounds. She said she'd rather not wrestle heavier boys because they'd probably be a lot stronger.

Graves, who feels the same way, said she'll likely compete for another year. She said she weighed 113 pounds before her freshman season, and had to lose 10 pounds to reach the lowest weight class.

On the day of a match, if she weighs a couple pounds over 103, Graves skips a meal. If she's more than a couple pounds over her wrestling weight, she puts on
sweats and runs.

This practice concerns her mother, Beverly Graves, who said she already worries that her daughter will get injured during a match.

"It's hard because these kids get weak from the lack of food," said Beverly Graves, a Waterford resident. "It drives me crazy. Other wrestling parents I talk to feel the same way; they don't like their kids skipping meals, either. They have to study and do their homework."

Cousins stressed that he discourages his wrestlers from losing excessive weight to reach a certain weight class.

Although she feels proud when she beats the boys, Graves said she wouldn't want to wrestle another girl because losing to another girl would be humiliating.

"I mean, what if you lost to a girl?" Graves asked. "It'd be weird." Last year, she pinned the only girl she wrestled. She'd prefer to leave it at that.

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