Team USA Wrestling: Newark's Dremiel Byers Hopes To Continue Proud Heavyweight Tradition

Dremiel Byers won a world championship in 2002, but he will surprisingly be making his first Olympics appearance in London. He has been near the top of the heap among heavyweight wrestlers since 1999, but he has consistently found himself the odd man out for Team USA.

Rulon Gardner won two medals, a gold and a bronze, in the Greco-Roman discipline from 2000-2008. He will be in the announcer's booth for NBC in London, however, giving Byers a chance to do his country proud.

Byers is a U.S. Army staff sergeant, and thus no stranger to perseverance. He is preparing himself in every possible way for the task at hand, including scouting every single one of his potential opponents. Byers has stocked his iPod with video of his competitors.

"I've been looking at that iPod so much, if I pass one of those kids in the village, I might give them a nod, but it's like, 'He gut wrenches to the right, he lifts to the left, he does this on his feet,' " Byers said. "I'll go through the whole breakdown. I have the plan, I just want to see it happen."

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