NATURALIZED AMERICAN WRESTLER EYES ’09 NATIONALS
Felisa Cardona
CBS Television
cbs4denver.com Showcase
Jun 30, 2008
DENVER (AP) â~@~U Tsolak Yeghishyan — a Colorado Springs cab driver
and wrestling champion — became an American on Monday, a few days
too late for him to try out for the 2008 U.S. Olympic wrestling team.
"From Day One, I’ve been dreaming about representing the U.S. in the
Olympics," he said just before he was sworn in at the offices of the
U.S. Immigration and Citizenship Services in Denver. "But this is
for my heritage. This is for my ancestors."
The 37-year-old is one of thousands of immigrants nationwide who got
caught up in a government background-check backlog that delayed his
path to citizenship.
Yeghishyan came to the U.S. in 1996 and became a legal resident in
1999. He applied for citizenship in 2004.
He passed his civics test and learned English by watching television
and reading books.
But the naturalization process had become tedious so his lawyer,
Beverly Oserow, filed a lawsuit last summer in U.S. District Court in
Denver against the government in order to expedite his naturalization.
On Thursday, he found out that his lifelong wish to live as an American
was coming true.
"It should have been a long time ago," said Mary LeNoue, one of
several friends who showed up to celebrate at Yeghishyan’s swearing-in
ceremony.
"He’ll be fabulous," LeNoue said when asked what kind of citizen
Yeghishyan might be. "He is very conscientious."
Yeghishyan, who placed ninth at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta
while on the Armenian wrestling team, was ineligible to try out for
the U.S. team unless he was a citizen. Given his age, he was no sure
bet to make the team, though he hoped to try.
Although he is disappointed that he missed the opportunity, he is
elated to be an American and his attention is now on bringing his
pregnant wife, Lilit, and 14-month-old daughter, Helena, to the U.S.
"My family is partying," he said as he held onto a small American
flag and his certificate of citizenship.
Oserow said it could take another three to four years before his
family can join him in Colorado Springs.
Yeghishyan still intends to wrestle for the U.S., even though it
won’t be for the 2008 Games in Beijing.
"Now, with God’s grace, I will be healthy enough for next year’s
U.S. Nationals," he said.
By the 2012 Olympic trials, Yeghishyan will be 41 years old, an
advanced age for an athlete. But Yeghishyan has hope because he has
overcome many hardships in his lifetime, including surviving a deadly
earthquake in Armenia in 1988.
"Maybe I will do it," he said of trying out in 2012.
For now, Yeghishyan is just proud to be an American.
"I accomplished something big on my own," he said. "It’s very uplifting
and a huge sense of responsibility."
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