Wrestling with propaganda

U.S. grappler's trip to Iran is eye-opening -- for both sides

The United States' newest ambassador returned from the Middle East last week, happy to have won his battles, happier to have made new friends. To be fair, Mike Ellsworth wasn't so much worried about his opponents at the Takhti Cup wrestling tournament in Sanandaj, Iran, where the 31-year-old Greco-Roman grappler won a gold medal in the 66-kilogram (145.5 pounds) class; he was worried about what might happen to him away from the mat. "We were getting advance translations of some of the press reports they'd been filing about our trip," recalled Ellsworth, who arrived with T.C. Dantzler, a teammate who fought at 74 kilograms (163 pounds) in the same tournament but failed to win a medal. "They included our flight number, the hotel where we were staying, our complete itinerary. I mean, we were going to be marked targets."

Ellsworth's apprehension multiplied as his flight landed in Tehran and the plane sat on the tarmac. He tensed up. He did not notice until the plane touched down that at some time near the end of the flight all the women on board had removed their makeup and placed veils over their heads. It was 3:30 a.m. Ellsworth put away his USA Wrestling jacket. He feared a reception that might be chilly or even hostile and hoped the delegation could slip through the terminal unnoticed. He hadn't even told his parents, back in Caro, Mich., that he was going to Iran; he didn't want them to worry about him. Instead ...

"We got to the airport in the middle of the night and there were 150, 200 people cheering for us -- old women, little kids," he said. "I thought, Hmm, this wasn't what I expected." The American delegation sped through customs and boarded a short connecting flight to Sanandaj, in the western part of the country. "We were 20 miles from the border of Iraq, 50 miles from Baghdad," Ellsworth said. "I got there thinking, What the heck are we doing here?"

Ellsworth started to learn some tricks to stay safe. If he smiled at one of the stern-faced armed guards assigned to protect the team, he always got a smile in return. If he offered a team pin, well, he might get a hug. More people waved and smiled and offered food. How to concentrate on wrestling? How to fall asleep and get over the jet lag when you're in the middle of a life-altering journey? "Even before the first match, I knew this was something I'd remember for the rest of my life," he said.

Ellsworth began the two-day tournament by defeating three Iranian opponents. He tried to block out his surroundings but found it impossible not to be mesmerized by the sights and sounds of 4,000 screaming men -- no women attended the matches -- in an arena designed to hold half as many. They cheered their countrymen but applauded Ellsworth's victories just the same. In his final match, against Elbrus Mamedov of Azerbaijan, Ellsworth recalled feeling like the hometown favorite. "Before the final, I heard people shouting, 'You must win,' in English," he said. "It was so unexpected that it really made it hard to concentrate." Ellsworth fell behind 2-0 but scored the last six points of the match to seize victory.

He spent his free time trying to absorb the culture. The delegation, which included one coach and an Iranian-born team leader, rarely strayed from the hotel, but the group did wander to a local market. Ellsworth sampled kebabs, bought two rugs, took more than 200 photos and engaged in whatever conversation he could. "[The people] were impressed with the way I wrestled," he said, "but they were more impressed that we came over in a time of war and fighting in order to do something for friendship. They called me an ambassador. I had no idea they'd see it that way, but I think they want to think highly of American people. They want to believe there is something more to us than what they're told. Whatever they think of the government, they don't hate us."

When Ellsworth talked to the Iranian wrestlers, they spoke of wanting to visit the U.S., most for the first time. With the World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling scheduled for this September in New York, many will get that chance. Still, several wrestlers said they are offended by the fact that upon their arrival in the U.S., they will be fingerprinted by Immigration and Naturalization Service agents as a security precaution. Why, they asked, are all Middle Easterners lumped together as potential terrorists? "We went over as an act of kindness and that's how they received us," Ellsworth said. "We're asking them to come back and they say they feel like criminals. I understand our government, but they're really taking it as a slap in the face, and I understand that, too. No easy answers, I guess."

At 31, Ellsworth, a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, is in his last competitive quadrennium. He has never made a world championships or an Olympics team, but he feels he is wrestling better than ever. He finished second, behind Kevin Bracken, at U.S. nationals this season. The Takhti Cup was one of his final shots at the glory he has spent a lifetime trying to achieve. "Whatever happens next year, I can always look back at this trip as one of the coolest things I've ever done. I definitely want to go back one day," he said. "I'll look at the Iranian people differently now. I hope they'll see us in a better light, too."

Sports Illustrated staff writer Brian Cazeneuve covers Olympic sports for the magazine and is a regular contributor to SI.com.

 

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