Listen to “5PM56: Rich Carlson and Spencer Woods” on Spreaker.
One debate to ignite in the lead-up to the 2024 Olympic Team Trials would be by positing which weight category for the United States is the deepest. Regardless of the litany of opinions on the topic, there is no doubt that 87 kilograms stands firm in the conversation — and two of the country’s best athletes in that very weight class are featured in E56 of The Five Point Move Podcast.
Fresh off of earning his third US National title last week in Texas is Spencer Woods (87 kg, Army/WCAP), who will now go on to represent the country at the Pan-American Olympic Qualifier in February. Known as the “Alaskan Assassin”, Woods’ competitive attitude aligns quite well with his moniker. The aggressive and physical two-time World rep put on one of the most impressive displays thus far in his career at the just-wrapped National Tournament in Fort Worth, where he had to overcome, in order, the likes of Tyler Hannah (Combat WC), ’20 Olympian/’19 World Team member John Stefanowicz (Navy WC), ’23 World Teamer Zac Braunagel (IRTC), and ’16 Olympian for Egypt, Mahmoud Sebie, who only recently became eligible for United States domestic competition. Woods reflects on title #3, the scope of his opposition, and provides an array of other insights relative to his approach to the sport that serious fans won’t want to miss.
Woods placed first in the 87 bracket, Sebie second, and Rich Carlson (Minnesota Storm) finished third, and it is Carlson who actually bats leadoff in this episode. Although he would have preferred to break all the way through in the tournament, multi-time National Team member Carlson still managed to send a reminder to the other occupants of this weight category. The keyword is “consistency”. In the past, Carlson had to endure several stops and starts in his career, mainly for military obligations. Yet — every time he had shown up to compete, he always contended, despite not knowing exactly how much time he would be able to commit to training. Things are different for Carlson during this Olympic campaign. He has become a 100% full-time Greco-Roman athlete who is investing all of his energy and resources into making a bid for the Paris ’24 Games. Similar to Woods, Carlson looks back on his performance in Fort Worth as well as expounds upon several other subjects pertaining to his life as a wrestler.
A Few Highlights
Carlson on potentially getting another chance to train overseas this winter
“I would like to go overseas and train. If I could compete while I’m there, that would be great, too. But in Denmark last year, I felt like I kind of got cheated out of that trip a little bit because I went over there and competed, and then got banged up bad enough that I couldn’t even train while I was over there. So I went all the way overseas and stayed there for two or three weeks, whatever it was, and didn’t get to train at all. That being said, I still did think there was a value in being there even if I was just sitting there and watching. But it’s obviously different getting your hands on a foreigner and training with them.”
Carlson on investing full-time into his push to make the Olympic Team
“If you want it bad enough, you will find a way to make it work. That’s true of pretty much anything in life, but if you want to make the Olympic Team and you want to be a full-time wrestler, you’ll find a way to make it work. It’s almost impossible to do nothing but wrestle. You’re going to have to have some sort of side income. I’m still in the National Guard, I teach wrestling classes in a couple different gyms… I just picked up my CrossFit certification so that I can teach fitness classes at gyms, as well, and I’m going to start doing that. I have these side-hustles and I’m still willing to put in time and make some money to support this dream. But at the same time, you also have to be willing to downsize or downgrade your style of living. Previously, I was living in a nicer house and living a different lifestyle. I had to give up a lot of things and compromise on a lot of lifestyle changes in order to make this work. And I think that’s something that people have to realize if you want this.”
Woods on how he approaches training at overseas camps
“You’ve got to know something that you want to work on, you have to be open to new things, and it’s a huge learning experience when you’re wrestling with other athletes from other countries and then you are breaking it down with your USA Teammates, and then your USA coaches, and then you’re trying out other stuff. There are a bunch of mini competitions and you can just tweak, tweak, tweak so much. I think it’s very important.”
Woods on his attitude towards tournament seeding
“I told Spenser (Mango) before we left (for the Nationals). He was asking if I cared where I was seeded. I was like, No, I want to wrestle everyone. I want it to be no question, no this, that, or the other. I want to go wrestle the best guys and I want to beat them. If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best.”
Listen to “5PM54: WCAP’s Ryan Epps and a Final X Greco-Roman Preview” on Spreaker.
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