LAS VEGAS — Why is 61-year-old James Chico Hernandez of Washburn still competing in wrestling?
“It’s a sickness and lifestyle that has been with me since 1968,” Chico said, flashing a smile.
Hernandez was the only delegate representing Maine and was competing in Div. E (born before 1959) in the 286 lbs. weight class, despite weighing in at 220 lbs. He was one of 88 wrestlers who took part in the USA Wrestling Veterans Greco-Roman and Freestyle Nationals as the U.S. Open week kicked off May 6 at the South Point Arena.
Hernandez went on to earn the Veterans Division E championship gold medal in Greco-Roman Wrestling that day and repeated the feat in Olympic Freestyle the following day to become a USA Wrestling Veterans double gold champion.
This comes on the heels of his American Folkstyle gold medal earned in Iowa last month.
Hernandez said he is attempting to verify with USA Wrestling Maine chapter chairman Nick Hutchins to find out if he might be the first wrestler in the state at any level to accomplish the feat of being a triple crown champion.
“Every year, I participate in a really competitive tournament,” Hernandez said. “It’s a great group of guys, and there is always great camaraderie among the wrestlers. It’s one big family – it’s like a big family reunion when we see each other every year.
“I also go with the intent to obtain as much knowledge as I can, to teach future and current Caribou Vikings wrestlers [where he currently coaches] the latest techniques,” he added.
Hernandez feels the Veterans Nationals is a very high quality event and was glad to be a part of it.
“It’s just a great experience to compete at that level against other people who have a huge passion for wrestling like me,” he said. “I was hanging out with and met some of the nation’s best Olympic wrestlers in Rodney Smith (a 1992 bronze medalist in Barcelona, Spain), Sammie Henson (a 2000 silver medalist in Sydney, Australia) and Kevin Jackson (a 1996 gold medalist in Atlanta).
“Learning and wrestling with some of the best never gets old and I feel like a kid by collecting autographs too,” he added.
Hernandez now owns 44 international titles and 36 national titles in Freestyle, Greco Roman, American Folkstyle, Submission Grappling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Combat Sambo and Sport Sambo.
