Time is now for former Spartan, Olympic wrestler Gomez

RIO DE JANEIRO – He has waited since the Opening Ceremonies, which feels like a lifetime ago.

He waited as Michael Phelps won five golds and a silver and finally looked like he was enjoying the moment.

He waited as a bunch of knucklehead swimmers embarrassed themselves, turning the story of these Olympic Games into the idiots and the gas station.

He waited as Usain Bolt flew around the track once again.

He waited as Katie Ledecky flashed that smile and swam away with four golds and a silver.

He waited as Simone Biles proved to be the greatest gymnast of all time.

Now, finally, on the last day of this Summer Olympics, Franklin Gomez, a wrestler from Michigan State, will start his competition.

“Things been good so far, just cutting weight and trying to stay as healthy as possible while doing it,” Gomez wrote to the Free Press in an email Saturday morning. “Waiting can be anxious, but I am not in control of the day I wrestle, so I try to just go with flow and understand that the time to compete will come soon.”

It will come and end today.

Gomez will wrestle in the in 65 kg weight class for Puerto Rico in a one-day competition. “It might be the hardest weight class in the Olympics,” Gomez said. “In my mind, I think I have as good a chance as anyone. I’m going to trust in my training and believe anything can happen.”

Four years ago at the 2012 London Games, Gomez was weakened by the flu and finished 15th. “The last time I went to the Olympics, I didn’t perform well,” he said. “For me, it’s a second chance, to try to better my performance.”

Now, he is more comfortable in the Olympic setting.

“London was my first time there,” he said. “I was new to everything. I was overwhelmed, sitting in the same cafeteria with Michael Phelps. It was kind of crazy. At the same time, I felt like it was bigger than I thought. I always thought the world championships were bigger than the Olympics. But it was kind of overwhelming at first.

“I learned that everything has a time. I should not worry if I medal or not. I should worry about putting forth my best effort.”

Gomez was born in the Dominican Republic, moved to Puerto Rico where he started wrestling at 12, went to high school for a year in New Jersey and then moved to Florida for two years.

As a high school senior, Franklin was rated the top high school senior at 119 pounds by Wrestling USA and Amateur Wrestling News.

The hardest part of his journey was learning English and adapting to a different culture.

“Every place that I have moved, I lived with American people who only spoke English,” Gomez said. “That helped a lot for me to learn the language. At the same time, it wasn’t easy.”

At MSU, Gomez wrestled from 2005-10 and was the 133-pound National Champion in 2009, a two-time Big Ten Champion and a three-time All-American.

“It was a time of personal growth, just a lot of learning about life, a lot of learning about my faith, learning how to not simply live for wrestling but to use wrestling as a tool,” Gomez said.

He earned a degree in human resources and a minor in psychology

“I used to think that if I would accomplish my goals, it would make me happier,” he said. “But as I grew, I learned, even if you accomplish a goal that should not be the end itself. I should never have a goal as an end itself. There has to be more than that.”

Gomez has been training with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club at Pennsylvania State University, and he feels as if he has improved since the 2012 London Games.

He has become a smarter wrestler in how he trains.

“It’s not how hard you go but what you do with the time you have, allowing my body to recover, having days to rest,” he said.  “I used to train a lot and my body was taking a toll.”

At one time, he focused on the end result, whether he won or lost.

But now, he wrestles to spread his faith.

“I just enjoy the journey and give my best to glorify my Holy Father,” he said.  “Because, ultimately, I’m not doing it for the people, but for Him.”