Greco-Roman wrestler Graham soaks in Olympics

Greco-Roman wrestler Keitani Graham knows it is unlikely he will leave London with the Federated States of Micronesia’s first Olympic medal. But the native of Kealakekua still sees his participation as a golden opportunity.

“What I want to do is soak up as much experience as I can and take that back home to the kids who I work with,” Graham said in an email interview from the Olympic Village. “Hopefully, 12-20 years down the line one of the kids I work with will be able to compete and contend for a medal on the world stage.”

Graham, 32, lives on Chuuk, which is his mother’s homeland, and he is executive director of a non-profit organization called SHIP/HOOPS. It provides sports opportunities, substance abuse education and cultural and environmental programs. The acronym stands for Society for Historic Investigation and Preservation/Helping Ourselves: Outreach Program in Sports. Graham said the organization’s biggest achievement to date is construction of an elementary school.

Since there are few athletic facilities and resources on Chuuk, he spent the past 10 months on Oahu training for the Olympics with former U.S. world team member Jake Clark. He also got a first-hand look at the struggles many Micronesians have had in adapting to Hawaii, and Hawaii adapting to Micronesians.

“When I was (a student) at Punahou from 1995 to 1998 not many people knew about Micronesians or Chuukese,” said Graham, whose recent time on Oahu also included speaking to kids at Palama Settlement. “Now it’s a totally different story. … There are two sides to the issue, I mean there are those Micronesians who are productive, contributing members to the community, but it seems that these people are being overshadowed by the few who do ‘bad’ things.”

His Olympic competition, which begins Monday, will surely inspire young athletes. But Graham’s continuing work in education should provide positive benefits, including in Chuuk and Hawaii.

“I definitely think more should be done at the source, by this I mean more should be done back home in Micronesia. Take kids who move to Hawaii for example. The education system in Chuuk is not up to par with Hawaii’s. Most kids come over to Hawaii barely speaking or understanding English and with no educational learning skills. It’s sad but true.

“That being said, I taught at Central Intermediate for a year after college and I noticed that a lot of teachers had difficulty relating with the students due to simple cultural differences. It wasn’t the students’ or teachers’ fault, per se, just simple misunderstandings.”

GRAHAM NEVER wrestled at Punahou. He played basketball and participated in track and field, and competed in the decathlon in college at Holy Cross. Wrecked hamstrings ended his track aspirations, so in 2006 he asked his father to help him get started in wrestling.

Clark Graham had joined the Peace Corps in 1966 and moved to Chuuk from Rock Island, Ill., one of the Quad Cities — an area where wrestling is very popular.

“After I learned the basics I competed at some regional tournaments in Micronesia and Oceania and was hooked,” said Keitani, who will compete in the Olympics at 84 kilograms (185 pounds).

He did not clinch a spot via several Olympic qualifiers, but was awarded an at-large entry based on placing 14th in the 2011 world championships.

“Keitani is the most humble guy you’ll ever meet, which is a good quality for wrestling,” said Brad Osborn, who trained with Graham on Oahu. “And while most people believe wrestling is about brute force, Keitani understands that it is more than that. It involves the mind and understanding how to manipulate your opponent.”

Graham had the first week of the Olympics to soak it all in.

“It has been pretty cool rubbing shoulders with the best in the world. Seeing athletes in the dining hall such as Michael Phelps, the U.S. gymnasts, NBA players and other athletes from other countries that I’ve seen on TV or read about is pretty surreal. Even running into my Punahou classmate Lindsey Berg (of the U.S. women’s volleyball team) in the dining hall was awesome.

“I’ve been wearing Micronesia and Hawaii gear and throwing the shaka around a lot, so I guess in that sense I’m an ambassador.”

In a week, he returns to being an educator. And, someday, when the first Micronesian wins an Olympic medal, he’ll be considered a pioneer.