(WSVN) - On the wrestling mat, there’s one Miami-born athlete who is combining the skills of his day job and his sport in search of a gold medal.
South Florida’s Alex Sancho believes being a U.S. Army Specialist has prepared him to go to battle in his first Olympic game.
“I think like a soldier on the mat,” he said. “When you go to war, you always have to have a game plan. You always gotta strategize, see what the enemy is doing and that’s what I go in when I’m wrestling.”
Sancho will represent Team USA in the 67 Kilo class in Greco-Roman wrestling.
He’s the first U.S. born Cuban-American to represent the United States in wrestling.
Sancho fell in love with the sport after his high school coach told him playing basketball may not work out.
“He ended up coming to my JV practice and he’s like, ‘You’re not going to be in the NBA anytime soon. You’re 5’6, you’re 103 pounds, you’re not going to go to the NBA,’ so from there on I went to wrestling practice and threw some kid on his head and fell in love with the sport ever since,” said Sancho.
At South Miami High School, he went to the state wrestling tournament three times and finished in the top four his junior and senior years.
“The adrenaline rush that I get from wrestling is nothing like anything else I’ve ever experienced,” he said. “This is what I do, this is what I do for a living. This is what I’ve been doing ever since I was five years old and I love the sport.”
Sancho also learned Judo at a young age. In Greco-Roman wrestling, all the moves are from the waist up.
“Your body is on the guy’s body, you’re pushing the pressure. You’re shoulder checking him, you’re headbutting the guy,” he said. “You’re pretty much locking up with the guy and trying to throw him feet to back.”
The 27-year-old credits his family and the Cuban community for supporting and believing in him.
“I represent my family in Cuba, I represent my friends and family in Miami,” Sancho said. “I represent everybody in the U.S. Since I was a little kid, I always wanted to be in the Olympics — time to get it done.”
His opening round match in the Olympics will be on Tuesday.
If he gets to the medal round, Sancho could face the world champion from Cuba, a wrestler he has faced three times in the past.
Good luck Sancho!
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