Barnes Qualifies for 2008 Olympic Games
Corvallis, Ore. – After having one of the most impressive opening seasons at Oregon State in 2007-08, junior added Olympic qualifier to his already solid resume in March, earning a berth to represent South Africa.
“It’s crazy to think that I qualified,” Barnes said. “It’s something that I always dreamed of doing, and I think being at Oregon State had a big part of me being able to do that.”
After struggling at the 2008 Pac-10 Championships following knee surgery, Barnes headed to Tunisia to compete in the FILA-African Senior Continental Championship at 66 kilograms (roughly 145.5 pounds), defeating three opponents to take the title and the automatic berth to Beijing.
He had finished 16th in his weight class at the World Championships back in September.
“It didn’t hit me until a day or two later that I had qualified, when people started calling me and congratulating me on qualifying,” Barnes said. “I couldn’t believe I actually did it.”
Barnes is one of 266 men from around the world that qualified to wrestle at the Olympics. He plans on training at Oregon State until he leaves for China, entering a tournament in Canada before helping out at the team’s summer camps.
“It’s a big accomplishment for me to represent Africa in the Olympics,” Barnes said. “I wouldn’t have been able to do all of this without my coaches and teammates at Oregon State. It’s a dream come true.”
The 2008 Olympic Games kick off on Aug. 8, in Beijing, China, and Barnes will be competing in the China Agricultural University Gymnasium beginning on Aug. 12.
