The dream lives on - Knee healed, Ellsworth again shoots for Olympics

It's hard to keep a good man down. Mike is still in Colorado Spring at the  training camp- He has been doing very well-   Took a 2nd in France and will be wresting in Turkey while we are on our trip.
 

But not Mike. While he couldn't make the Greco-Roman wrestling team for the 2000 or 2004 Olympics, he was determined to turn fate into an opportunity. He traveled to Sydney, Australia to stay with the American team and to watch the games - which made him even more determined to make a comeback.

Ellsworth was eliminated at a regional qualifier for the U.S. Olympic wrestling squad when he tore an Anterior Curciate Ligament (ACL) in his knee. At the time, he needed a victory in only one of the five National Regional Qualifiers or a top eight finish in the National Tourney to qualify for the Olympic trials in Dallas. He had hurt his knee more then a month before but continued to wrestle and was one victory away from placing in the top eight of the national tournament.  Physician ..had to reconstruct the damaged ligaments and are very happy about the healing process. But after months of intense physical therapy and training,  Mike is ready to try again.  My Doctor said my knee is tight- as tight as the other one. Since the accident and treatment, Ellsworth endures up to three hours of intense rehabilitation for the knee each day at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center, Ellsworth has been training at the center for the past 5 years.

The Caro native began wrestling about 21 years ago at the tender age of 7. He started Grecco Roman wrestling about five years, and has had his eyes set on the Olympics ever since. Ellsworth competes in the 69kg (152 pounds) weight division. Coming up later this year, Mike will face national champion Heath Sims, who he beat at the 1999 World Team Trials by a pin: Olympic Silver Medalist Katsuhiko Nagata of Japan, who he pinned at the 1998 Haparanda Cup in Sweden, and 1998 World Silver Medalist Csaba Hirlock of Hungary, who he pinned at the 1998 Concord Cup. In February Mike will be going to Cuba for the Gramma Cup, and will compete at the Schultz Cup in America that same month. In April he'll head to the U.S. Nationals in Las Vegas, and to the World Team Trials in Cincinnati in June. In November he'll take part in the Sunkist competition in the U.S., and again wrestle at Harparanda Cup in Sweden, and at Vantaa in Finland.

FAME - Friends of all American Mike Ellsworth - continues to raise funds to help make the dream a reality. Friend and long-time supporter Betty Pattullo jokes that Mike will go far on his "bionic knee". "People don't realize how many expenses are involved," Betty Pattullo said. "When Mike is at the center, his expense are covered. "But when he travels, it's all on his own. Mike's responsible to pay for all of his food, lodging and travel expenses. It adds up fast!"

We really need your and financial support to keep Mike Ellsworth's dream alive.. 100% of donations go towards competition expenses, administrated by the FAME committee. To make Tax deduct able donations, please mail to:

You can also  e-mail your pledges for our charity with your name and address to safari@pattullo2000.com. All proceeds raised this year will go to the Friends of all-American Mike Ellsworth (FAME) committee to assist him in his quest for the Olympic gold medal in the year 2004.