Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.As emotional rollercoasters go, they don't get much more dramatic than the one Todd Meneely experienced Friday.
In one day, the former Omaha Skutt and UNO wrestling standout went from fulfilling a dream he's been chasing for years to seeing that dream put in jeopardy.
After qualifying for April's Olympic Wrestling Trials with a win in the consolation semifinals of the Dave Schultz Memorial International, Meneely broke a leg bone in the third-place match.
"It's pretty tough," Meneely said Saturday from Colorado Springs, the site of the tournament and Olympic Training Center. "I had finally gotten that monkey off my back and million pounds off my shoulders. I felt like I could just wrestle, have fun. I went from that to completely devastated."
Meneely will have surgery Monday and said he's been told he can expect to begin certain activities in four weeks, with hopes of being back on the mat in eight weeks. The Olympic Trials are set to begin April 20 in Iowa City, less than 11 weeks away.
"It's just building character," Meneely said. "It's making me stronger as a person."
Qualifying in freestyle events became a little more difficult for Americans this year. Previously qualifying tournaments featured wrestlers from only the U.S. But many of their qualifying tournaments turned international this year.
Meneely made it by being the highest-finishing American not already qualified. He said the emotions went from tears and happiness with his family after qualifying to near shock after the lower leg injury.
He suffered the break in the second period, attempting a throw. Meneely said his foot got caught and he felt the pop. A plate and screws are expected to be a part of his surgery Monday. He said doctors have described it as a clean break.
It might be a setback, but Meneely isn't taking it as the end of his Olympic hopes.
"It's going to suck," he said. "But I've wrestled my whole life. I'm not going to forget what I'm doing."
Meneely, 28, won four state titles for Skutt, the last coming in 2002. He went on to wrestle at Iowa before eventually transferring to UNO, where he won three national championships. He moved to Colorado Springs with his wife and son to focus on making a run at the 2012 Olympic Games.
He said a pair of high ankle sprains sidelined him extensively before his third NCAA title at UNO.
"I've been through this before," Meneely said. "I'll work hard again. I'll be back."
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