A 2004 Olympian, Brad Vering will make his second straight Olympic appearance at Greco-Roman’s 84kg/185 lbs division. The Nebraska native won silver at the 2007 World Championships, at which the U.S. won the team world title. The avid fisherman spoke with NBC Olympics about his previous Games experience, his pride in cauliflower ear and why fishing is his favorite hobby.
Having been to Athens, how do you feel about Beijing? Are you better prepared?
Yeah, I think all the kind of glitz and glamour of going to the Olympics is kind of past me now, and now I’m really focused on getting the job done. And not worried so much about — you know, I really enjoyed the Olympics and the Olympic spirit, but right now I’m really focused on getting a medal. That’s the most important thing for me
Wrestlers constantly need to cut weight before a competition. What’s it like to always have to be mindful of that?
It’s tough, and you’ve always got to be on top of your game. But as an elite athlete, that’s what you got to do no matter what sport you do. So you just try to do things professionally, whether they’re losing weight or gaining weight or whatever you have to do to perform at your optimum.
Women’s wrestling made its debut at the 2004 Olympics, but is still pretty new. How do the men treat them and feel about having them in the sport?
I think there’s a mutual respect between the men and woman in Colorado Springs (at the Olympic Training Center) as far as wrestling goes. It’s a new sport for them so they’re kind of building right now where we’re a little bit more established. But I think everyone gets along real well and we support them and they support us.
Freestyle wrestling is a little more common, especially coming up through college. What made you want to make the switch to Greco?
You know, Greco — I really like the toughness in it. And it’s a different kind of competition because you’re dealing only with the upper body and it’s a lot more throws and it’s a little more dangerous and I kind of like that aspect of it. And the rest of the world seems to favor Greco a little bit more than freestyle sometimes. So I wanted that competition and that feeling that I not only would be the best in the U.S. at my sport, but to try to be the best in the world.
What can you tell us about cauliflower ear? Isn’t it sometimes seen as a symbol of pride?
Yeah, cauliflower ear is great. I mean, I think the funniest thing is it’s like my lifetime trophy, you know? It’s something that when you walk around and you see someone with cauliflower ear, you know they’ve either wrestled or boxed or did judo or something that’s just a tough sport. You have kind of a different respect for that person and they always kind of carry themselves differently.
Understand you’re really into fishing. How’d you get into that and have you been able to go in the past few months leading up to the Olympics?
I try to fish probably 40-50 times a year, whether I’m fly fishing or whatever, I don’t care. It’s like my favorite hobby. I think one of the best things someone ever said to me was, “You’re the fishing guy that wrestles, right? “Or something like that. But no, I love it. I think it’s nature’s finest versus nature’s finest when I get out on the river. But, it’s just great for me because I try to get away from all the hustle and bustle and the pressure that you get from doing sports. So to get out in a stream, it’s just a great feeling to be in nature.
Do you go alone or with other people?
Actually at first I used to like to go by myself quite a bit, but now I’m kind of into the phase where I like to take people with me and show them how to fish. So I try to take someone who’s green once or twice a year to kind of get them introduced into the sport and get to enjoy the same things that I get to enjoy.
— Compiled by NBC Olympics staff
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