Oregon State wrestler excited about trip to Beijing Olympics

By Raju Woodward
Gazette-Times Reporter

At first it didn’t really hit Heinrich Barnes that he qualified for the Beijing Olympics.

Maybe it’s because he tried to keep it a secret from everyone but his family. Once word got out, though, the congratulatory phone calls started pouring in.

A few nights later, it all began to sink in for the Oregon State wrestler.

“I was sitting there and all of sudden it hit. I was like, ‘Oh, this is really happening,’ ” Barnes said. “I was so excited.”

Wrestling in the Olympics has been a long-time goal for Barnes, a South Africa native who got into the sport when he was 6 years old.

And when he steps onto the mat at the China Agricultural University Gymnasium on Aug. 20, the 21-year old will finally realize that dream.

Barnes is one of 266 wrestlers competing in the Olympics and will be the lone South African in the competition. He qualified by winning the FILA-African Senior Continental Championship in Tunisia at 145 pounds back in March.

“I expected it to be hard,” Barnes said. “But I think I was well-prepared. I was gunning for the berth.”

Barnes said he doesn’t feel any added pressure being his country’s lone representative in the competition. While he admitted it would have been nice to have a couple teammates along for the ride, he’s happy representing South Africa on his own.

He’s hoping his presence at the games will help the sport’s popularity in his native country, where soccer rules supreme.

“I definitely want to help,” Barnes said. “It’s pretty small there, so I want to help the sport grow again.”

Barnes was lucky enough to work with a former South African Olympian, Bennie Labuschagne, for over a decade while growing up. He credits Labuschagne with teaching him how to wrestle and prepare for the Olympics.

At the same time, Barnes knew he had to come to the United States to get the coaching and competition he needed to be able to qualify for the Olympics. After graduating from high school with a 125-7 record and a South African championship under his belt, he enrolled at Northern Idaho College. In 2007, his final season there, he went 40-3 and was the National Junior College Athletic Association champion at 141 pounds.

That earned him a scholarship at Oregon State, where he wasted no time in making an immediate impact. This season, Barnes went 22-7 overall and 13-2 in Pac-10 competition. However, he struggled to an eight-place finish at the Pac-10 championships due to a knee injury he suffered two weeks before the meet.

At the time of the injury, Barnes was concerned about whether he would be able to pursue his Olympics dreams. But team trainer Keita Shimada put him on a rehab program that allowed him to get back to full strength for the FILA-African Senior Continental Championship.

“He was a big help in my recovery,” Barnes said. “It was great to have all the support around me when it came to working out. I’m very grateful for my teammates.”

Barnes spent June and most of July working out in Corvallis, taking advantage of the new wrestling room in the Sports Performance Center at OSU.

He left for South Africa for a week, on July 19 before heading to South Korea for further training. Barnes was scheduled to arrive in Beijing this week.

Barnes expects his toughest competition to come from wrestlers hailing from Russia and other Eastern European nations. As of last week he said he wasn’t nervous, having built up a lot of confidence through his training. But he admits his mood will probably change.

“I think I’ll probably get pretty nervous a couple of days before competing,” Barnes said. “But I try not to worry about what lies ahead and just concentrate on the here and now.”

By then, the experience of being an Olympian will sink in for Barnes. After all, it’s not everyday you get a chance to see a childhood dream become reality.