Gruenwald back for 3rd Olympic shot

Two-time Olympic wrestler Jim Gruenwald is making a comeback.

The 37-year-old former Olympic Training Center resident announced today that he has started preparing for the 2008 Beijing Games in the Greco-Roman 132-pound division. He hasn’t wrestled in a competitive match since January 2005.

“I am a little bit disappointed I didn’t medal at the Olympics,” said Gruenwald, who placed sixth at the 2000 Sydney Games and 10th at the 2004 Athens Games. “I would like some hardware from the big show. That’s the one event that separates the good wrestlers from the great wrestlers, and I would like another shot at that.”

The first competition for Gruenwald, an assistant coach at the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan, will be the Sunkist Kids International Open next month in Chandler, Ariz.

The U.S. has three chances to qualify the Greco-Roman 132-pound weight class for Beijing, starting with the Pan American Championships, which are Feb. 29 to March 2 in Colorado Springs. The U.S. Olympic team trials are June 13-15 in Las Vegas.