Olympics-Wrestling-US team speak of peace and gratitude - before charge on the mat begins

By Amlan Chakraborty

PARIS (Reuters) - The U.S. wrestling team sounded unusually chilled out on Thursday, speaking of their gratitude and sense of peace at being at the Paris Olympics - where they could do well in Russia's absence.

The USA team are widely expected to boss the men's freestyle section with no Russian opposition to worry about, while their women will go toe to toe with powerhouse Japan.

Leading the charge in the men's 97kg will be three-time world champion Kyle Snyder, who is chasing his third successive Olympic medal.

The 28-year-old credited his consistency to his ability to stay humble, such as being open to learning from a younger teammate - like Aaron Brooks in his case.

"I've learned a lot from him in the past year just wrestling with him, looking at the way that he moves and different things that he does that really annoys his opponent," Rio gold medallist Snyder said.

"I was just thinking like 'That's pretty cool that I was learning from him', because this is his first Olympic Games and this is my 10th world and Olympic (appearance)...

"I think that's what really helps me to get better and be able to compete well as I learn from anybody, and I want to get better and I want to be able to compete hard and win."

Brooks, who will compete in the 86kg category, was not quite so receptive of the only advice he got from Snyder, though.

"The one thing that I told him was that we're gonna get a lot of gear when we come here, so you don't have to pack that much stuff' - and he still ended up packing a bag that was 123 pounds," Snyder said with a wry smile.

BEING AT PEACE

Some wrestlers find anger useful on the mat, but Snyder is not one of them.

"You can get a lot of things out of anger, but there's a consequence to it and most people don't love that consequence.

"But there's also a consequence to competing with gratitude... It's kind of being at peace."

For Snyder, it was important not to be obsessed with achievement and recognise life beyond sports.

Sarah Hildebrandt, who will compete in the women's 50kg, struck the same note as she recalled her own journey.

"It brings me to the present moment, when I'm just wrestling and leading a life guided by those values instead of chasing medals and results," she said.

Helen Maroulis, who won the women's 53kg gold in Rio and 57kg bronze in Tokyo, also struck a philosophical note.

"I'm very grateful for that experience of also knowing what it's like to maybe not win but be at peace with doing your best, and I think that's a life lesson.

"For Paris, I feel so at peace, super content, extremely grateful."

(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in Paris; Editing by Hugh Lawson)