Tony Black, USA Wrestling's Manager of State Services, was chosen to attend the 50th Session for Young Participants at the International Olympic Academy in Olympia, Greece. While in Greece, Tony will be chronicling his experience for wrestling fans to follow.
 
Greetings from Athens, Greece! I left Colorado Springs on Tuesday morning, and 20 hours later arrived in Athens. The last time I was in Europe was in 2003 for the Greco-Roman World Championships in Creteil, France, and I have a feeling that this is going to be a much different experience.
 
I was prepped by former participants of the International Olympic Academy of what to expect, so hopefully I'm prepared.  Everyone talked about how hot it is in Greece during June, and they weren't lying.  I checked the forecast the day before I left, and it is going to be in the upper 90s during my two weeks here.  Normally I am not one to buy and drink bottled water, but my stance on that has certainly changed for the short term.
 
There are two other US delegates with me, Regina Bennis-Hartman and Angie Murphy. Regina works in International Games for the US Olympic Committee, and Angie works for USA Triathlon.  Ironically enough, Angie and I grew up in the same town, River Falls, Wisconsin (a town of 12,000), so we have known each other for many years.  Actually, our parents all graduated from River Falls High School, so our ties go way back.  All three of us are excited about the opportunity to be part of the IOA, as the mission closely allies with our own personal and professional philosophies.
 
I am not an anxious person by nature, but I always experience a little anxiety when packing for trips.  This trip was way worse.  Fortunately, I haven't realized that I forgot anything, so hopefully that is the case upon closer examination of my luggage.
 
The flights were rather uneventful, which is always a good thing.  My flight from Frankfurt to Athens was a little interesting, so I'll be sure to touch on that in a minute.  Do I dare admit that I watched a movie with Ashton Kutcher, Jennifer Garner, Jessica Alba, Patrick Demspey, Bradley Cooper, Taylor Swift, among others on my flight over the pond?  Bonus points if you know what movie I'm talking about.
 
Okay, I have to tell my story about the flight from Frankfurt to Athens. For some reason, maybe flying through the middle of the night, I was tired and wanted to sleep.  I put in my headphones and reclined my seat. That's when it got a little more interesting.  I was jarred when the passenger behind me starting yelling and violently pushing on the back of my chair.  I was interested in sleeping, so I turned back to look between the seats.  The passenger's husband shook his head at me, so I shook mine back and said that I would like to recline my chair back.  The pushing and yelling (which I could hear through my headphones, which I quickly took out) continued, so the flight attendant came to talk to us.  After talking with me in English and the upset passenger in German, she told me that she was going to get the chief flight attendant to explain the situation.  After speaking with the second flight attendant, I reclined my seat and napped. Twice more during the flight the passenger yelled and tried to push my seat forward. The passenger next to me was a high school teacher from North Carolina, so at least we got a kick out of it.
 
My brother, Kevin, has been on probably a half-dozen tours as a women's coach for USA Wrestling, and it seems like he never gets his luggage when he arrives at his final destination.  I was hoping for a little different outcome than what he has become accustomed to with this trip.  Well, I'm happy to report that all of my luggage showed up in Athens with me.  Regina and Angie also had no problems with luggage, so we were 3-for-3.  Dating back to my days competing in college, I always have an imaginary “bet” to see whose luggage will come first, and today I won. 
 
After a 40 minute bus ride, we arrived at the Metropolitan Hotel in Athens. This will be my home for the next two nights, and I have been paired up with Udaya Dushan Kumara, one of two Sri Lankans at the IOA.  Udaya speaks decent English, so we have been able to get to know one another and each other's cultures.  We even got to move rooms together, as there was standing water in our bathroom from a leaky pipe. 
 
In addition to getting to know Udaya, Angie and Regina and I walked around for a little bit in the afternoon heat.  We watched a little World Cup soccer (Switzerland's upset victory over Spain) while eating gyros – it didn't take long to find the delicious Greek food.  I'm really looking forward to being over here during the World Cup, as there will be 170 others from all over the world at the IOA.  Already we have met the two representatives from Slovenia, so I'm sure we will be jawing back and forth between now and Friday, when our nation's soccer teams square off in Ellis Park, South Africa.  Hopefully Steve Cherundolo (my sister's favorite American player) and company give us reason to celebrate.
 
After tonight's dinner, I was hoping to find the latest episode of The Deadliest Catch online.  I figured hulu.com would be the place to check, so I just checked.  Unfortunately, hulu only streams video content to users in the US, so I'm out of luck for the time being to watch the US Coast Guard rescue a crewmate on the cod boat, The Alaskan Leader, that my cousin captains.  Good thing for friends with DVR.
 
One benefit of the heat and humidity here – I don't think I have to worry at all about the wrinkles in my suit for tomorrow night's formal reception, as they'll easily come out hanging in my hotel room closet.
 
Citius!  Altius!  Fortius!