The Wrestling Polar Bear

Fans around the U.S. gather around their TV and radios waiting for their champion, Coy Frost, to make history. The announcer grabs the mic. 

“For the last match of the night here at the 2001 freestyle women’s wrestling tournament, we have Coy “The Polar Bear” Frost facing off the defending champion of last year’s tournament, Addo Hamadi. Coy Frost, standing at five feet, seven inches is trying to be not only the first American woman’s wrestler to win this tournament, but also the youngest at the age of 19. The young daring wrestler came all the way from Texas, here to France for the chance at the title. But her competitor will not be easily moved. Addo Hamadi stands at five feet, ten inches and has been wrestling since before Frost was even born. She is 33 and is currently the number one women’s wrestler in her weight class in Canada. This will definitely be an interesting matchup.” 

As the two women meet in the middle of the mat, they shake hands and take their low stances. 

“Even though both these women are in the 68kg weight class, they do not look like it.” The announcer informs. “Hamadi is longer and skinnier. Frost on the other hand is all muscle. It’s hard to say who will win these 2 rounds first.” 

The referee blows the whistle and the clock starts it’s count down from 3 minutes. The two women start circling each other. “The match has now started. Both of them staying low, bouncing on their toes waiting for the moment to strike. Frost is trying to reach in far enough to grab Hamadi without going too far into her dangerous reach. Now Hamadi makes a quick grab at Frost’s leg.”  

The crowd begins getting louder. Hamadi tighten her grip around Frost’s leg and slightly twist it in an awkward position, causing Frost to hobble backwards. “Looks like Hamadi will gain the first point of the match if she successfully drives Frost out of bounds. Frost is trying to regain balance but Hamadi uses her long leg to trip Frost right at the borderline of the mat.” They both land, Hamadi now using her strength to push Frost out while Frost tries to stand. The referee blows the whistle. 

“And it looks like...” Those listening on the radio hold their breath waiting for the announcer. “Frost was forced out the ring. That gives Hamadi 1 point. Hamadi is a lot faster and stronger than Frost might think. But there is still a chance for the American player since there is still 2 minutes left on the clock until the first round is over. The women stand up and head back to the middle of the mat. The whistle blows. “They’re back at it again. Looks like Frost is playing with more caution now. Every time Hamadi extends an arm out, Frost grabs her hand, stopping her from grabbing at her legs again.” 

Hamadi suddenly drives low for Frost’s abdomen. But just as fast as she can get her shoulder into Frost’s middle, Frost drops her legs and resist the attempt. While Hamadi tries to reach for her leg again, Frost wraps both her arms under Hamadi’s armpits and locks her arms. “Now Frost has the upper hand as she locks her arms behind Hamadi’s head. Hamadi is twisting her body trying to get out the lock, but Frost won’t let go.” Frost repositions her arms and swivels her body until she’s on Hamadi’s side, forcing her into the ground. “Frost has now forced Hamadi’s entire front flat onto the mat.  

That gives 2 points to Frost for the successful take down but that’s not all. There is only 53 seconds left in the round. If Frost can hold her down for long enough, she can take the round.” Hamadi gets a leg out from under herself and uses it to drive her body up, but Frost quickly shoves her back down flat. As Hamadi struggles to find a way to stand up, she takes a different strategy. Instead of trying to stand up, she uses her legs to push herself out of bounds. “Looks like Hamadi is using her long legs to scoot out of bounds and Frost has no choice but to scoot with her.” 

The referee blows the whistle and their struggle stops. “The referee calls out of bounds and we restart. The clock is stopped at 21 seconds. Not a lot of time, but anything can happen. If Frost can play defense well enough, she will win the round. But of course, it won’t be that easy. Hamadi is known for her aggressiveness on the mat.” 

Both players are heaving for air through their mouth pieces as they walk back to the middle of the mat. The crowd is roaring. Then, the referee blows the whistle. They start again. 

Frost bends her knees and rocks back and forth, staying ready for anything. But before she can react fast enough, Hamadi slips a hand behind Frost right knee. She takes advance of Frost being off balance and quickly drives her shoulder into her chest. For a split second, both of Frost legs come off the ground, but she is slammed down on her shoulder before she can do anything. 

“Frost has now been slammed on her back, that takedown is worth 2 points for Hamadi, but it looks like she’s going for the pin. If Hamadi can successfully pin down both of Frost’s back shoulders on the mat, she will win the entire match. Frost has one shoulder already on the mat and Hamadi is working on forcing the other one down too.” 

Frost struggles to keep her shoulder off the floor. She uses her back legs to thrust her hips into the air and to keep her weight on the one shoulder already on the mat. But on the other side of her is Hamadi trying to push Frost’s body down. “Frost’s stocky body is resisting Hamadi’s push, but for how much longer.” Frost Shoulder gets closer and closer to the mat, until the whistle blows. 

“Frost is saved by the whistle and lives to fight another round. If it wasn’t for the whistle, she probably would not have been able to win this. But that is the end of round one.” Both women stand up and walk to their coaches. Frost listens as people cheer her name. “Polar Bear! Polar Bear!” 

Frost’s coach walks up to her and hands her a water. “You got her next round, Coy.” She looks down at the floor. 

“No, I don’t. She’s too fast.” She says while catching her breath. Her coach drops his head to the ground searching for the right words to say. Coy watches him and feels bad for adding more stress to him. 

“Just push through it Coy. We’re going to win this tournament and make America proud. You can do this. You are the Polar Bear.” His speech did the opposite of what he thought it did; Coy felt more nervous than before. Inside she felt her heart race, she felt the pressure of being American’s champion, and she didn’t want to let her coach down. But her face was expressionless. She had to win this, or let everyone down.  

“Okay, coach.” 

The announcer goes back to his mic. “The break is over and the fighters are back in position. Hamadi won the last round and only needs one more win, and the victory is hers. Frost needs to win this round, and a third round to win the match.”  

I can do this. I can do this. The whistle blows. 

“Starting the second round, Frost seems much more focused. She’s playing a lot lower this round. She’s even bouncing on her toes quicker.” Frost waits for the right moment and then strikes. She drops and slides to Hamadi and latches to her leg. Frost uses her fingers to lift up her opponent’s back heal and moves quickly to lift her shoulder into Hamadi’s stomach. With her strong back leg, Frost lifts Hamadi into the air. The Crowd screams in anticipation.  

“Frost now has Hamadi in the air. Now if she can get Hamadi on her back and pin her, the match is over.” 

Frost begins to drop Hamadi, but Hamadi’s long legs hit the ground first and she is able to twist her hips in time for her to land on her shoulder. “2 points are given to Frost for the takedown and now she's going for the pin.” 

Frost puts all her strength into her back legs and forcefully plunges Hamadi shoulders closers to the mat. Hamadi jerks under her, trying to save herself. 

“Hamadi’s shoulders are almost there, Frost might actually win this.” 

The whistle blows. “And it looks like the polar bear has won it!” 

The crowd chants while the women stand up. “Polar bear! Polar bear!” The referee faces the crowd and takes both women by the wrist. He lifts Frost’s wrist, declaring her the winner and they chant even louder. Frost takes a moment to realize what’s happened. I won? I won ? Now realizing the situation, she allows herself to take a relaxing breath. She’s proud of herself, but more importantly, she's glad that everyone else is proud of her. 

Back in the locker room, she takes a long shower. When she’s done, she lays on the bench alone with headphones on, but she doesn’t bother turning the Walkman on. She’d rather sit in the silence and think about the game. About how she almost lost. I almost let everyone down. Almost pinned in the first round. She could have gone on, but she sat up as she heard the door open. It was her coach.  

“Ready for the interview?” her coach asked. She let her body drop back down and let out a sigh. 

“Can we skip interviews today?” Her coach knew this question was coming. Coy asks the question every time. 

“No, you know that. You just won the whole tournament, aren’t you excited. You’re the Polar bear from America and the youngest person to ever win at this level. You should celebrate.” 

“I could be better though. I almost lost in the first round. I only have 3 more years till they add women's wrestling to the Olympics. I need to be ready to compete then, and that’s even if I make the roster.” Her coach steps closer. 

“You’re putting too much pressure on yourself.” 

“I need to be better, or it would all be a waste. All the training, all the time away from my family, all the money. I need to make it all count. I can’t lose.” Silence settles in the room. He doesn’t know how to respond and she knows this. She instantly feels like a burden to her coach so she speaks before he can respond. 

“I’m sorry for being so much trouble, I’ll go do the interview.” She gets up before he can say anything. 

In the interview room, a group of reporters wait in front of a long table where Coy will sit. She first notices the poster behind her chair. It’s a picture of her flexing with a polar bear behind her. If that’s who they want me to be, then so be it.  

One reporter raises their hand. "Were you nervous coming into this fight, being so young?” Yes, I barely slept last night. 

“No, I went into the match like I do every match and played to the best of my abilities.”  

Another hand in the air. “In that first round, you were almost pinned. What happened there?” She’s better than me, she should have won. 

“She was a lot stronger than I thought and it took me by surprise.” 

Another hand goes up. “That last move was so incredible. It was such a bold move to pick up Canada’s number one women's wrestler and slam her like that. That must have taken a lot of confidence. How did that feel?” I didn’t even think that I could. It still could have been better. She landed on her shoulder, not her back. I don’t even deserve to be up here. 

“It felt great, it was a great way to end the match.” 

Another reporter raises their hand. Coy keeps a straight face, but she’s much rather be back in her hotel room. The reporter clears her throat to read her question but is interrupted.  

“Coy won’t be taking any more questions tonight.” Her coach told the group of reporters.  

Three days later, their back in Texas and headed to the training facility. Coy, like always, says nothing on the way there. As the car comes to a stop, she realizes she doesn’t know where she is.  

“Coach where are we?” He puts the car in park. 

“At the ice cream shop, of course.” 

“Why?” 

“This week, we’ll be on break.” She looks confused. 

“How will that help me get better at wrestling?” 

“It won’t, but you come first. And you need a break.” She looks down and thinks to herself. I don’t deserve a break. “You deserve a break, Coy.” He looks at her with sincerity. she knew that he wouldn’t do this if he didn’t care. 

Maybe I do deserve a break. “Alright.” They get out the car and go inside.