Henry Cejudo
Cejudo (pronounced say-HOO-doh) is a prodigy of the sort rarely found in the U.S. freestyle program, which typically ?doesn’t get its hands on wrestlers until they’ve completed their college careers. He burst onto the international scene in November 2005 while still a senior in high school, winning the New York Athletic Club Holiday International after defeating ‘04 NCAA champion Jason Powell of Nebraska in the quarterfinals and dominating junior world champion Besik Kudukhov of Russia in the semis. Five months later Cejudo became the first high schooler to win a senior national championship since USA Wrestling became the sport’s governing body in 1983. “He is the future of wrestling,” says U.S. freestyle head coach Kevin Jackson. 3
His coach, Kevin Jackson, called him the “future of wrestling”, a label Cejudo embraces rather than shuns. His expectations are higher than any coach’s, and Cejudo expects them to be fulfilled this summer in Beijing. The lightest U.S. freestyle wrestler (55kg/121 lbs), Cejudo spoke about the pressure he feels ahead of his first Olympics, why he can come back from being down 10 points in a match, and why he doesn’t get starstruck around famous athletes. 6
Still wearing his singlet after a draining practice here recently, Henry Cejudo found a floor mat and commenced a meticulous ab workout, huffing during each crunch of his stomach, one already worthy of an Abercrombie & Fitch ad. It was almost as if he wanted the pain. 2
That would be fine with Cejudo, who will be the No. seed in his weight class this weekend at the world team trials in Las Vegas. Henson has missed time with a knee injury, leaving a hole in the weight division that only Cejudo seems ready to fill. At 5′ 4″, he is a compact mass of muscle and focused aggression. Since he began wrestling in junior high, he has thought of little else but winning world and Olympic championships. Indeed, he is obsessed with those goals, driven by a desire to prove himself to the world, as well as to a father he never really knew. 4
His coach, Kevin Jackson, called him the “future of wrestling”, a label Cejudo embraces rather than shuns. His expectations are higher than any coach’s, and Cejudo expects them to be fulfilled this summer in Beijing. The lightest U.S. freestyle wrestler (55kg/121 lbs), Cejudo spoke about the pressure he feels ahead of his first Olympics, why he can come back from being down 10 points in a match, and why he doesn’t get starstruck around famous athletes. 6
It has been a life about getting up and off the mat. Henry Cejudo did it three times Tuesday . He got up, got up and got up . 7
Rare is the wrestler who’s featured in Sports Illustrated — especially prior to winning an Olympic medal, a world title, or earning his right to purchase an alcoholic beverage. But rare is the talent of Henry Cejudo. 5
Cejudo (pronounced say-HOO-doh) is a prodigy of the sort rarely found in the U.S. freestyle program, which typically ?doesn’t get its hands on wrestlers until they’ve completed their college careers. He burst onto the international scene in November 2005 while still a senior in high school, winning the New York Athletic Club Holiday International after defeating ‘04 NCAA champion Jason Powell of Nebraska in the quarterfinals and dominating junior world champion Besik Kudukhov of Russia in the semis. Five months later Cejudo became the first high schooler to win a senior national championship since USA Wrestling became the sport’s governing body in 1983. “He is the future of wrestling,” says U.S. freestyle head coach Kevin Jackson. 3
