Zain Retherford: "Growing up on a pumpkin farm taught me hard work and not to take wrestling for granted"
In an exclusive interview with Olympics.com, Team USA's 70kg freestyle wrestling world champion reveals the lessons he transferred from farm life to the mat, and why winning is "like a bouquet of flowers".
Wrestling
Mental fortitude can come from the most unlikely of places.
For USA freestyle wrestling star Zain Retherford, that place is his family’s pumpkin farm in Pennsylvania.
While the winter squash is most famously associated with Halloween fun, the reigning 70kg world champion’s experiences of cultivating them as a child were somewhat different.
“I remember that whenever I would have the opportunity to go to wrestling practice, I would go and do it because it was easier than working on the farm,” the 28-year-old told Olympics.com.
“There are tedious tasks that have to be completed over and over again - pulling weeds, picking rocks - which are very unrewarding tasks at the time. Once the crop finally yields, that’s when it’s good.
“Growing up on a pumpkin farm taught me hard work, and it taught me not to take wrestling for granted because there is harder work out there.
“I’m grateful for that childhood and I have a lot of great memories on the farm, but wrestling has nothing on growing pumpkins in terms of labouring!” - Zain Retherford to Olympics.com
Zain Retherford: from pumpkin farmer to elite wrestler
Armed with the lessons from life on the farm, Retherford became one of the best wrestlers in the United States.
After a stellar high school career, he enrolled at wrestling institution Penn State University, where he became a three-time NCAA national champion and a two-time Dan Hodge trophy winner in 2017 and 2018 for the best college wrestler in the country.
Unsurprisingly, Retherford is regarded as one of the greatest Penn State Nittany Lions wrestlers of all time with a superb 95-3 win record.
However, his journey competing for the USA has been more turbulent.
The Wisconsin-born wrestler was eliminated in the second round of the 2017 World Championships at 65kg by Bahrain's Adam Batirov, and bowed out of the first round at the 2019 Worlds, going down by just one point, 9-10, to Cuba’s Alejandro Valdes.
After a shock second-round loss at the US Olympic Trials in 2021, Retherford bulked up to compete at 70kg for the 2021 US World Team Trials, where he finished third overall after losing to Jordan Oliver in the quarter-finals.
It was clear that Retherford was competing at a more comfortable weight, and his decision to stay there was rewarded a year later when he avenged that loss by beating Oliver in the best-of-three Final X Stillwater to make the Team USA 2022 World Championship roster.
Zain Retherford beats Tyler Berger to secure the 2023 Beat the Streets Final X Wrestling 70kg title
Zain Retherford: "Wins and losses in wrestling are like a bouquet of flowers"
Retherford was on fire at the World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.
He did not drop a point until the final, but Narikuni Taishi scored a takedown before establishing an ankle lace which the American could not escape.
The Japanese turned Retherford four times to go 10-0 in front and win by technical superiority.
With a renewed sense of purpose, Retherford returned to the final of the 2023 Worlds.
This time, he would emerge victorious as he beat Islamic Republic of Iran’s Amir Yazdani 8-5 in a thrilling 70kg final.
But how did Retherford manage to maintain his motivation and balance throughout all these ups and downs?
The answer lies within a mantra that his coach instilled in him years before.
“Wins and losses in wrestling are like a bouquet of flowers,” Retherford told Olympics.com after his world title triumph in the Serbian capital.
“You go to the store or pick them for your partner and it’s worthwhile you’re doing it, but two weeks later they wither up and die and you have to pick some more flowers.
“In the same way, you have to leave accomplishments or losses in the past. That doesn’t discredit the work that you put in, as it’s still a beautiful moment when it happens, but at some point you’ve got to move onwards. You’ve got to leave your past behind you.”
Handling the pressure of elite wrestling
Elite competition of any kind involves a significant amount of mental strain.
Despite being known as one of the most mentally resilient athletes in wrestling, Retherford reveals that he is no exception to feeling the pressure of competition.
“The nerves in wrestling are crazy,” he said. “It’s one on one against another person who is the best in their country. It's an amazing competition but you put a lot on the line for this.
“In four World Championships I’ve medalled twice. I didn’t place at all twice, so it can be very unforgiving. I feel you have to be a little bit crazy to dedicate so much time to something, where the success is sometimes determined by the roll of a dice."
Retherford got married in 2021 to Julianna, who encouraged her husband to adjust his mindset towards competition in a bid to better manage this stress.
“To deal with this, I’ve learned to focus on not worrying," he continued. "My wife has helped me a lot with that and just focussing on being present and on the things that I can control like my effort and my attitude.
“I give myself permission to make mistakes as there is never going to be a perfect match, so those things help.”
Retherford became a father in 2022, which also made him see sport in a new light.
“Becoming a parent has given me perspective. Last year when I came to this moment, running out of the tunnel felt like such a big thing. But I remember my wife giving birth which I had zero control over, compared to the control I somewhat have when I’m on the mat.”
The next flower Retherford will hope to pick is being selected for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Since 70kg is not among the six men's freestyle weight classes at the Games, he has to move up to 74kg or down to 65kg to try and compete in Paris.
The magnitude of this task cannot be overstated - at 74kg lies four-time world champion Kyle Dake while old rival Nick Lee blocks his path at 65kg.
Working in Retherford’s favour, however, is the familiarity of his surroundings; the USA Olympic Trials in April 2024 will take place at Penn State, Retherford’s home and a place where he is used to winning.
One certainty is that the USA star won’t be getting over confident due to his past results in his quest to make the plane to Paris.
“Wins or losses, you can’t put too much stock into either one despite dedicating so much of your time and energy to it,” he said.
“You can’t be too defeated when you’re going through losses, and you shouldn’t also get too high living off past achievements.”