BEIJING — “I’m living the American dream,” Henry Cejudo shouted for all to hear.
Cejudo had just defeated Tomohiro Matsunaga of Japan 2-2 on tiebreaker and 3-0 in the best-of-three match in the men’s 55-kilogram freestyle competition to win the gold medal.
A two-time Colorado state prep champion from Coronado High School in Colorado Springs, Cejudo, 21, won three morning matches to advance to the championship mat, then put away Matsunaga to win gold, capping an incredible rise on the American wrestling scene.
He is the youngest gold medalist in United States wrestling history.
Cejudo won two state championships in Arizona before moving to Colorado as a junior in high school. Upon graduation two years ago, he stayed in Colorado Springs to train at the United States Olympic Committee headquarters and set his sights on Beijing.
Cejudo had a difficult childhood, living with his mother and siblings in crime infested areas in Phoenix. He found an outlet in wrestling to channel his anger and energy.
“You see guys with his talent level, you see guys with his work ethic, but you don’t see many with an Olympic gold medal,” said Team USA coach Terry Brands. “That’s special.
“He’s done an unbelievable job of overcoming his background, not becoming a victim and making the most from the circumstances he’s been given. He hasn’t used the notion of people feeling sorry for him to his advantage. Everything he’s accomplished he’s done for himself.”
Cejudo in 2007 became the youngest grappler to win an American national title.
The son of undocumented Mexican immigrants, Cejudo bypassed a college career to try to become an Olympian. Before the Games, he assured the United States of winning a freestyle wrestling gold for the ninth consecutive Olympics at which it has competed.
Cejudo dramatically held on to beat Namid Sevdimov of Azerbaijan in the semifinals, stealing the third and final period by a 4-3 score, winning the match two periods to one.
Cejudo moved to Colorado Springs with his older brother, Angel, in the summer of 2003, after the two were discovered in Phoenix by Tricia and Townsend Saunders, U.S. women’s coaches for the 2004 Athens Games.
Henry had just finished his sophomore year in Phoenix, where he won back-to-back state titles. He was immediately designated as a workout partner for Patricia Miranda, who was preparing for the Athens Games.
U.S. Olympic officials were so impressed by Henry and Angel they asked them to move to Colorado Springs full time, which they did later that year, in order to train. Henry was 16 at the time.
HENRY CEJUDO’S CAREER GLANCE
Age: 21. Residence: Colorado Springs.
Weight: 121 pounds. Height: 5-feet-4.
Career highlights
2008: Second in U.S. Nationals … Pan American Championships gold medalist.
2007: Pan American Games gold medalist … U.S. World Team Trials champion … U.S. Nationals champion… Fifth in Kiev International … Second in Takhti Cup (Iran) … Third in Ivan Yarygin International (Russia).
2006: Second in Junior World Championships … FILA Junior World Team Trials champion … Pan American Championships gold medalist … Second in U.S. World Team Trials.
2005: Fifth in Junior World Championships.
High school: Four-time state champion (two in Arizona, two in Colorado at Coronado in Colorado Springs) … Ranked No. 1 nationally at 125 pounds by Wrestling International Newsmagazine.
Denver Post wire services contributed to this report
