Listen to Brands and Barta’s Press conference.
I am so excited to see this for women’s wrestling!
The stories of a young Tom and Terry Brands wrestling each other in their basement in Sheldon are legendary, just like the twin brothers’ eventual resumes would become at the college and international level.
But annually as kids, Tom and Terry faced one of their fiercest opponents — a cousin, Misti. She was a year older and lived in Wyoming but would stay with the Brands family in northwest Iowa for about two months each summer.
“She used to beat the holy hell out of Terry and I. She was a fierce competitor,” Tom Brands, a 1996 Olympic gold medalist and now in his 16th season as the University of Iowa’s wrestling coach, told The Register. “We were best friends, but she would take us both apart. Many little brothers that have big sisters have that story.”
In other words, Brands’ appreciation for girls wrestling dates back nearly five decades. That passion will no doubt be felt when women’s wrestling becomes an officially sponsored sport at Iowa in the 2023-24 academic year.
