Untitled Page

THE PAIN REMAINS

Nearly a decade after losing a trio of controversial matches, Cary Kolat still questions the politics and ‘corruption’ of FILA

By Kyle Klingman

In the bizarre world of international wrestling strange things reportedly happen. Matches get thrown. Money exchanges hands. Rules get manipulated. Phantom points appear on scoreboards.

The sport on an international level unfortunately has a history of functioning outside the realm of ethics. And no wrestler has experienced the dark side of this organization like Cary Kolat.

Kolat represented the United States at three World Championships and one Olympics from 1997 through 2000 at 63 kg (138.75 pounds). During those four years Kolat garnered one silver medal, one bronze medal and a lifetime of questions.

The only international title Kolat holds is an unofficial one: Best wrestler never to win a World or Olympic title. The title is subjective — and upsetting to Kolat — of course, but ultimately true.

Kolat’s earliest honors included an undefeated prep career (137-0) at Jefferson-Morgan High School in Pennsylvania, where he captured four state titles and two third-place finishes at the Midlands — a prestigious tournament at Northwestern featuring some of the best college and post-college wrestling in the nation — as a junior and senior.

Kolat enrolled at Penn State and placed second at the NCAA tournament in 1993 as a true freshman and third as a sophomore in 1994. Following a redshirt year in 1995, Kolat transferred to Lock Haven, winning NCAA titles in 1996 and ’97.

But Kolat’s heart belonged to freestyle. College was a stepping stone to where he wanted to be internationally — and near the end of his time at Lock Haven wrestling began getting stale.

“I loved wrestling,” said Kolat. “At seven years old, the first national title I won was the AAU nationals in Omaha, Nebraska … a freestyle tournament. And I fell in love with freestyle at that point. In 1984, I watched all those guys win gold medals (seven in freestyle, two in Greco-Roman) and I was just obsessed with trying to chase down an Olympic gold medal.

“When they raised my hand on that NCAA platform for the final time I was saying inside that I’m glad this phase of my wrestling career is over because my passion and my love always was for freestyle. That’s where I loved to be. It was like the gloves are off, I don’t have to do the folkstyle stuff any more and I can focus on where I really want to wrestle.”

Following an unsuccessful bid to make the Olympic Team in 1996, Kolat put all his efforts into freestyle. Kolat watched Tom Brands win the Olympics that year and in the process learned an important lesson: You have to be hard nosed and tough to win international wrestling tournaments … especially if you’re an American.

The 1997 World Championships in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, could have been the start of a gold-medal run. Kolat won his first four matches and reached the finals against Iran’s Abbas Hajd Kenari, the same opponent Brands had defeated in the opening round of the ’96 Olympics.

In that match, Kolat learned another important lesson: Don’t fall behind early. Kolat gave up a takedown and gut wrench within the first minute and had to play catch up — a dangerous game against crafty international opponents.

“That match in ’97, I don’t know if we can say that’s due to FILA’s corruption,” said Kolat. “That was more of a referee thing going on. I can kind of live with the ’97 thing. Not that I’m happy with a silver but in ’97 I gave up points 40 seconds into the match.

“I’ve never watched the match but people have told me there are seven or eight times he tied his shoes and he untied his shoes and that’s where we came up with the taped laces. And that’s more of a referee thing. You don’t know who you’re going to get.

“It’s us vs. the world and it’s always been that way.”

(You can read the rest of this article by subscribing to WIN Magazine. Either contact our office at 1-888-305-0606 or subscribe through this website by selecting the “Subscribe” section on our front page.)



THE PAIN REMAINS Nearly a decade after losing a trio of controversial matches, Cary Kolat still questions the politics and ‘corruption’ of FILA
By Kyle Klingman In the bizarre world of international wrestling strange things reportedly happen. Matches get thrown. Money exchanges hands. Rules get manipulated. Phantom points appear on scoreboards. The sport on an international level unfortunately has a history of functioning outside the realm of ethics. And no wrestler has experienced the dark side of this organization like Cary Kolat. Kolat represented the United States at three World Championships and one Olympics from 1997 through 2000 at 63 kg (138.75 pounds). During those four years Kolat garnered one silver medal, one bronze medal and a lifetime of questions. The only international title Kolat holds is an unofficial one: Best wrestler never to win a World or Olympic title. The title is subjective — and upsetting to Kolat — of course, but ultimately true. Kolat’s earliest honors included an undefeated prep career (137-0) at Jefferson-Morgan High School in Pennsylvania, where he captured four state titles and two third-place finishes at the Midlands — a prestigious tournament at Northwestern featuring some of the best college and post-college wrestling in the nation — as a junior and senior. Kolat enrolled at Penn State and placed second at the NCAA tournament in 1993 as a true freshman and third as a sophomore in 1994. Following a redshirt year in 1995, Kolat transferred to Lock Haven, winning NCAA titles in 1996 and ’97. But Kolat’s heart belonged to freestyle. College was a stepping stone to where he wanted to be internationally — and near the end of his time at Lock Haven wrestling began getting stale. “I loved wrestling,” said Kolat. “At seven years old, the first national title I won was the AAU nationals in Omaha, Nebraska … a freestyle tournament. And I fell in love with freestyle at that point. In 1984, I watched all those guys win gold medals (seven in freestyle, two in Greco-Roman) and I was just obsessed with trying to chase down an Olympic gold medal. “When they raised my hand on that NCAA platform for the final time I was saying inside that I’m glad this phase of my wrestling career is over because my passion and my love always was for freestyle. That’s where I loved to be. It was like the gloves are off, I don’t have to do the folkstyle stuff any more and I can focus on where I really want to wrestle.” Following an unsuccessful bid to make the Olympic Team in 1996, Kolat put all his efforts into freestyle. Kolat watched Tom Brands win the Olympics that year and in the process learned an important lesson: You have to be hard nosed and tough to win international wrestling tournaments … especially if you’re an American. The 1997 World Championships in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, could have been the start of a gold-medal run. Kolat won his first four matches and reached the finals against Iran’s Abbas Hajd Kenari, the same opponent Brands had defeated in the opening round of the ’96 Olympics. In that match, Kolat learned another important lesson: Don’t fall behind early. Kolat gave up a takedown and gut wrench within the first minute and had to play catch up — a dangerous game against crafty international opponents. “That match in ’97, I don’t know if we can say that’s due to FILA’s corruption,” said Kolat. “That was more of a referee thing going on. I can kind of live with the ’97 thing. Not that I’m happy with a silver but in ’97 I gave up points 40 seconds into the match. “I’ve never watched the match but people have told me there are seven or eight times he tied his shoes and he untied his shoes and that’s where we came up with the taped laces. And that’s more of a referee thing. You don’t know who you’re going to get. “It’s us vs. the world and it’s always been that way.” (You can read the rest of this article by subscribing to WIN Magazine. Either contact our office at 1-888-305-0606 or subscribe through this website by selecting the “Subscribe” section on our front page.)