Gene Mills Tells His Story RE ’80 Olympic Boycott

‘Wrestlers At The Trials’ – excerpt from Gene Mills

Amongst the 90 wrestlers and coaches whose never-been-published stories are captured in the recent book about the 1960 thru 1988 Olympic wrestling Trials is former Syracuse standout Gene Mills. From “Wrestlers At The Trials”, here is a short excerpt from the stories that Gene tells about his experience at the 1980 Trials and his feeling about the US boycott of those Olympics.

“I went to the wrestle-offs in Brockport still thinking we were going to compete in the Olympics. I wanted to pin my way through the Olympic Games and knew I needed to drop down to 114.5 to meet my goal. That was a tough pull for me but I made it. It was only after I won the wrestle-offs that I finally realized we wouldn’t be wrestling in the Games.

“I was so mad. I wasn’t pulling all that weight to have a good time. I was devastated, furious, angry, you name it. I would have liked to have been locked in a room with the president and make him pay. I had worked my ass off, earned the right to go and I wanted him to feel my pain.

“Obviously, I didn’t do that but I did get to see him on our team visit to Washington. One of his advisors had told him a little about me so as I approached him in the reception line, he says, ‘Hello, I’ve heard about your half-Wilson, Mills’. I chuckled. I wanted to pin him right there. But, I kept my cool and….”

To learn more about this fast-selling 198 page hard-cover book “Wrestlers At The Trials “and to order your own copy, go to www.WrestlersAtTheTrials.com

Jamie Moffatt, author

Wrestling Gear

Mat Wizard Hype
Mat Wizard Hype
Asics Dave Schultz Classic
Asics Dave Schultz Classic
JB Elite IV
JB Elite IV
Cael V6.0
Cael V6.0
Adidas Adizero
Adidas Adizero
Nike Hypersweep
Nike Hypersweep

Leave a Reply