HERNING, Denmark (Army News Service, Sept. 25, 2009) Aca,!" Pfc. Jeremiah Davis is in Denmark and confidently set to take on the greatest 132-pound wrestlers in the world. He also feels good about knowing his wife and daughter are safe and secure at home on Fort Carson, Colo.
A Greco-Roman wrestler in the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program, Davis will make his debut in the World Wrestling Championships at Herning on Saturday. WCAP wrestler Spc. Marco Lara accompanied him to Denmark to serve as DavisAca,!a,,c training partner for the biggest tournament of his life.
Aca,!A"For someone like Jeremiah who wants to win a world championship and eventually an Olympic gold medal, I think WCAP means more to him and his family than it does to himself because the Olympic dream would be with him no matter what,Aca,!A? Lara said. Aca,!A"But what WCAP does is allow him to train and for that to be his job.
Aca,!A"It gives him and his family the resources to allow him to train and not have to scrounge around for cash as if he were a civilian.Aca,!A?
The Army World Class Athlete Program sending Soldiers to compete in the World Championships is an example of the Army Family Covenant in action Aca,!" allowing troops to pursue their world-class and Olympic dreams much like their civilian counterparts, who they have pledged to defend.
Aca,!A"Jeremiah and I have both seen lots of athletes have compromised marriage situations where the non-athlete spouse has to bring in a whole lot of the income and the athlete has to rely on them to train,Aca,!A? Lara explained. Aca,!A"That puts a lot of pressure on the family.
Aca,!A"This allows Jeremiah to be responsible for a lot of the income and that takes a lot of pressure off the family for money and whatever they might need. It gives him a chance to train without having to worry.Aca,!A?
Davis, therefore, was worry-free two days prior to stepping onto the mat on the worldAca,!a,,cs grandest wrestling stage without his two biggest fans by his side: wife Chelsea and their 2-year-old daughter, Miah.
Aca,!A"IAca,!a,,cm very excited,Aca,!A? Davis said Thursday night. Aca,!A"I feel full of energy. I feel motivated to go out there and put on a show Aca,!" try my best and just see what happens.
Aca,!A"ItAca,!a,,cs nothing new to travel overseas for us, but itAca,!a,,cs a cool little town and IAca,!a,,cm enjoying myself. But IAca,!a,,cm here for worlds and not thinking about nothing else but wrestling. After I win my gold, God-willingly, I can tell some stories.
Aca,!A"I just want to go out there and feel energized.Aca,!A?
Davis also wanted to give a shout out to his Godfather, Kevin Lane.
Aca,!A"HeAca,!a,,cs the one who got me into wrestling,Aca,!A? Davis said. Aca,!A"Without him, I wouldnAca,!a,,ct be here.Aca,!A?
Ditto for WCAP, both wrestlers concurred with a Aca,!A"Hooah!Aca,!A? in stereo sound that echoed off the walls of a Danish church built in 1889.
WCAP Sgt. 1st Class Dremiel Byers and Spc. Faruk Sahin also will represent the Army as members of Team USA on Sunday. Byers won a Greco-Roman world championship in 2002 at 264.5 pounds and took the bronze medal in 2007. WCAP wrestling coach Staff Sgt. Shon Lewis serves as one of three Greco-Roman coaches for Team USA.
WCAP heavyweight wrestler Spc. Timothy Taylor and Staff Sgt. Marcel Cooper, a WCAP assistant coach, also made the trip to Denmark to serve as training partners for Byers and Sahin, respectively.
UniversalSports.com will provide Webcast coverage of the medal-match finals from the World Wrestling Championships through Sept. 27. The live video stream will be provided at 1:30 p.m. each day on the Web site at http://www.universalsports.com.
Four different one-hour tape-delayed television broadcasts of highlights from the World Championships will air at 7 p.m. nightly on the Universal Sports network from Oct. 1 through Oct. 4.
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