Wrestler Abas eager to get back
Olympic silver medalist looks to reboot career after major knee injury
By Jeff Faraudo, STAFF WRITER
On the heels of winning an Olympic silver medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2004 Athens Games, former Bay Area resident Stephen Abas had another big year in 2005.
The James Logan High graduate, now 28, was named to the NCAA’s 75-year anniversary team, one of just 15 wrestlers in collegiate history to make the cut. He also moved up a weight class and defeated world champion Yandro Quintana of Cuba at a tournament on Quintana’s home turf.
Then came 2006, with lows to match the highs of the previous two years.
First, Abas tore ligaments in his right knee, requiring major surgery for the first time in his 20-year wrestling career. That wiped out his competition schedule for the entire year.
Then, in June, his alma mater Fresno State stunned the local community by terminating a wrestling program that was as successful as any on the West Coast. Abas became an elite-level wrestler at Fresno State, compiling a record of 144-4 and winning three NCAA titles.
“At the beginning of the year I get injured ” probably the worst experience of my life, “Abas said. “Then I get another gut shot on this (Fresno State) thing in a city I’ve been living in and poured my blood, sweat and tears into.”
The pendulum is about to swing back in a positive direction, Abas believes. His knee is sound, and he plans to resume competing Jan. 7 at the Real Pro Wrestling Super Challenge in San Jose.
“I’m pretty excited. It’s been a while for me, “said Abas, who has
not competed since October 2005. “These last couple years have been real weird and different for me, but I feel it’s going to help me out in the long run. It keeps me hungry.”
After taking the silver medal at Athens, Abas vowed to return for gold four years later in Beijing, and even his knee injury hasn’t diminished his ambition.
He traveled to China this fall to accompany the U.S. team to the World Championships and is excited to return.
“I’m real into cultures and seeing new countries, and it was a great experience for me, “he said. “I don’t think it was a place for me to vacation, but it was real cool to see, and I can’t wait to go back to Beijing for business.”
Abas was training for a tournament in January when he tore the anterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligaments in his knee. Surgeons replaced the ACL with a ligament from a cadaver and repaired the LCL. Months of rehabilitation followed.
“I had to get my range of motion back, “he said. “Then it was just building strength. The muscle deteriorates so fast, it was a little scary.”
Abas wrestled in the 55-kg or 121-pound weight class in Athens, but moved up to 60 kg/132 pounds before being injured. For Beijing he’ll drop down again, where he must contend with longtime U.S. rival and top-ranked Sammie Henson.
First, he’ll have to lose 22 pounds from his current weight of 143. “It goes with the business, “he said, “but it’s not easy, for sure.”
Abas plans to move to Colorado Springs next month so he can train at Olympic Training Center. The timing of his exit from Fresno was merely coincidental.
Still, he’s among lots of folks upset after Fresno State suddenly shut down its wrestling program last summer, calling it a cost-cutting move. There is a Web site (www.savefresnowrestling.com) dedicated to reviving the program, the city’s mayor proclaimed Aug. 4 as “Save Fresno Wrestling Day.”
“It was out of nowhere … real sneaky, “Abas said of the program’s elimination. “It was a horrible trick by the administration. We’ve been working on getting the AD (athletic director Thomas Boeh) fired these last few months.
“Wresting in the valley is huge, “Abas said. “It may be over for this year, but we’re fighting it.”
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