The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Sports

Related Photos

  • Wale Agboola

    Ali Bernard

December 22, 2009

Bernard unsure about what future holds

Olympian from New Ulm trying to balance student life with her wrestling career

Regan Carstensen

As the only girl on a small town’s high school wrestling team, Ali Bernard wasn’t sure how much wrestling would be a part of her future.

Even after becoming one of only eight American women to wrestle in the Olympic Games, she remains unsure of what to do about her wrestling career.

“I didn’t know how far I wanted to go with the sport when I first started,” Bernard said. “I just thought after high school I’d be done.”

She graduated from New Ulm High School in 2004 after spending four years on the wrestling team, but she was far from being done with the sport. Bernard went on to earn her second Junior World title in 2005, the same title she earned once before as a high school student in 2003. She also won the USA Olympic trials in June 2008, giving her a ticket to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, where she turned in a fifth-place finish.

Having made so many wrestling accomplishments at such a young age, the 23-year-old now has her sights set on reaching an educational goal, and her future in wrestling is looking a little more hazy.

“I have goals outside of wrestling,” Bernard said. “I want to graduate from a university. I think that’s equally as important for me.”

A student at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Bernard is on track to graduate in spring of 2011. So far, she has only competed for the U of A Pandas in one tournament this year, but will wrestle more regularly beginning in January.

Managing both school and wrestling, Bernard has a lot on her plate. Having wrestled since she was young, the busy lifestyle is nothing unusual, but her mom remains impressed nonetheless.

“It’s a tough schedule,” Bernard’s mom, Sue, said. “I think it’s really admirable that she can juggle all of it and be successful.”

Sue has been supportive of her daughter since her first wrestling match. Nervous, but supportive.

“It was nerve-wracking, but I didn’t fear for her more than anyone else because I knew she could hold her own,” she said.

If Bernard ever decides to say goodbye to the sport, Sue and Bernard’s dad, Rocky, will show the same support they always have.

“We’ll be 100 percent behind her,” Sue said. “When the time is right, the time is right.”

For now the future looks unclear, and Bernard is just taking things day by day. She’s still training, but doesn’t know if she’ll compete in the 2012 Olympics in London. The same uncertainty is seen in her life after college.

“I’m really undecided. I just want to get my degree and then I’m going from there,” she said.

As a physical education and recreation major, one thing Bernard does know is that she wants to find a job in the sports or recreation fields. It’s the specifics she has yet to decide on.

When it comes time for her to settle into a career, Minnesota may once again be host to the Olympian. Even having traveled as much as she has for wrestling, Bernard said she enjoys being back in New Ulm the most.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Sports