By Kyle Klingman, W.I.N. Columnist

Why do they do it? Every Olympic year I ask myself this question.

            Why is Jim Gruenwald, who has already made two Olympic Teams but never medalled, coming back for another go at the age of 38?

            Why is Cary Kolat, a two-time World medallist who has a history of having his matches overturned, giving it another shot at the age of 34?

            Why did David Zuniga, a Greco-Roman Olympian in 1996 at 136.5 pounds, make a comeback at the 2004 Olympic Trials at 163 pounds … in freestyle?

            Why do these guys keep competing in a sport that takes so much work? How do you deal with knowing that your Olympic dream could be over in a mere four minutes of wrestling?

            Clearly the financial incentives aren’t there. And we all know that wrestling isn’t a sport for those seeking attention from the masses.

            I was offered some insight into these questions during Mike Van Arsdale’s speech at the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa induction ceremony on April 19. Van Arsdale — an NCAA champion for Iowa State in 1988 and one of this year’s inductees — competed internationally from 1991 through 2000.

            “What I really wanted to say, if we have young people, older people, people in the middle, when I sum this whole thing up, it’s probably about more things than this but I want to say it’s about love,” said Van Arsdale during his speech. “It’s about commitment and believing in yourself. So it’s about belief. And it’s about understanding.”

            But Van Arsdale never made a senior level World or Olympic Team even though he was close. At the 1996 Olympic Trials, the former Cyclone star made it to the finals at 198 pounds but lost straight matches to Melvin Douglas. At the 2000 Trials, he cut all the way down to 187 pounds (he had been competing at 213 pounds when the weight classes changed in 1997), but lost in the semifinals to Lee Fullhart.

            So a couple days later, I called Van Arsdale and asked him, “What keeps you coming back for more?”

            “I would say hope and basically your dreams,” he told me. “You know you’re good enough to make the team every time you step foot on the mat. It’s the thrill of winning those matches, making the team, and then being able to give a gift to your family. ‘Let’s go watch the Olympic Games, here are your tickets.’ It’s that whole experience.

            “There really is no price you can attach to it. It’s not even tangible. It’s larger than life itself. Of course I didn’t get to do that, but the thought of that really drove me to really train very hard to try and make that happen.”

            Those intangibles come full circle with one of the great things Minnesota head wrestling coach J Robinson told me about making the Olympics. Robinson, who was a member of the 1972 Greco-Roman Olympic team, never achieved his athletic goals either. His Olympic experience ended with zero wins and two losses.

            But, according to Robinson, making an Olympic team is more than just winning a medal.

            “Probably one of the greatest things that I learned in my life after the Olympics in ’72 — and it took me 20 years to realize it — is it isn’t the medal that’s really the most important,” said Robinson. “It’s who you become in the process.

            “There is a difference between doing everything 100 percent and falling short and who you become and doing everything at 80 percent and falling short and who you become. Those are two different people. So the desire to excel or the drive to win is unbelievably important in order to continue doing this day after day.”

            Anyone who hasn’t read John Irving’s chapter in Brian Kilmeade’s book “The Games Do Count” should find the book and make a copy of page 210 immediately. Just make sure you blow it up big so it can be posted in your locker room or in your kitchen or in your office. This should be required reading, not only for every wrestler, but also for anyone who has aspirations of greatness.

            Irving — a world renowned author who competed in wrestling until the age of 39 — states that he kept competing because he never won a tournament he wanted to win. So he kept striving to reach his goal.

            “The key word is ‘process,’” says Irving in the book. “The gratification at the end of the day of winning a wrestling match or publishing a good book is the result of months and years of minuscule repetition. If you don’t love that process, you won’t have a good result, either on the tennis court, the ski slope, the wrestling mat, or with your finished book.”

            Notice that Irving’s key word is “process” not “product”. Robinson says it’s who you become in the process, not who you become in the product.

            A product is measured; a process is continuous. So the product (i.e. a gold medal) of being an Olympic champion is of little importance here.

            Make no mistake, the standard is excellence — and winning the Olympics is the standard. This isn’t like completing a marathon where everyone gets a medal for finishing. In international wrestling it really is about one thing: making an Olympic team and winning a gold medal. And anyone who competes in this sport should not deviate from that standard.

            But a maximum of 18 American wrestlers (seven men’s freestyle, four women’s freestyle, and seven men’s Greco-Roman) have an opportunity to compete at the Olympics this year. So for the 100s who do compete and don’t win, well, you better love what you are doing.

            The Olympic Trials are in June and, inevitably, the epic three-match series between Kendall Cross and Terry Brands to make the 1996 Olympic team will get brought up. Cross defeated Brands two matches to one and went on to win the Olympics. Brands, a World champion in 1993 and 1995, made the 2000 Olympic team and earned a bronze medal.

            Find out who each of these two men have become, not in the product, but in the process. Then ask yourself this question: Who would I rather be?

            (Kyle Klingman is the associate director of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum, located in Waterloo, Iowa. He can be reached via email, kyle.klingman@yahoo.com.)