Hoping To Pose Problems On Mat

Of the 98 wrestlers competing at the Olympic Trials that begin today in Spokane, only Rico Chiapparelli has carried Naomi Campbell on his shoulder down a modeling runway in Paris.

All together now: Rico es muy suave.

Chiapparelli has been a fashion model for about four years, stumbling into the business after he stepped away from the mat in 1992.

His break was doing a commercial for the U.S. Postal Service (“Two Days For Two Dollars”). From there, he made contacts that helped him into modeling.

“I’ve done things basically for every men’s fashion magazine, GQ, Esquire, Italian Vogue, French Vogue,” Chiapparelli said. “I’ve done runway stuff for Calvin Klein, Armani, Channel, Valentino.”

After a four-year layoff, he’s back wrestling because it provides him something that modeling cannot. And we’re not talking about a designer singlet.

“I got back into wrestling for myself,” said Chiapparelli, who was fourth at 180.5 pounds at the U.S. Nationals in April. “Modeling doesn’t give me anything intellectually, creatively, physically. The only thing I get out of it is money. Wrestling satisfies me totally.”

Sometimes, though, wrestling can be a hazard to his other career.

“I did a job in London right after (U.S.) nationals and I had a big black eye,” he said. “The photographer loved it. The client looked at me and said, ‘You’ve got a black eye.’ But the photographer eventually convinced them, ‘We’ll work with it.”’ The 32-year-old won an NCAA individual title in 1987 for the University of Iowa. He was U.S. and World Cup champion in 1989.

He wore his hair long when he was at Iowa, but one of his early modeling jobs called for a new ‘do. He’s had short hair ever since.

“Modeling is good money, but it’s sporadic,” Chiapparelli said. “It’s very interesting and I get to travel to a lot of places. It’s a totally different group of people.”

Douglas can’t weight

Melvin Douglas admits he made a mistake cutting weight to wrestle at 180.5 pounds at the 1992 Trials.

There’ll be no repeat error.

“My father kept telling me, ‘Move up,’ and I should have listened,” said Douglas, the top seed at 198 this year. “I was weighing 205, my natural weight. I spent half my time cutting to 180. … Now, I feel really confident about my technique and I’m ready to go.”

Douglas has little trouble staying at 198 pounds, a luxury many pound-conscious wrestlers don’t enjoy.

“I work out with Kenny (Monday, 163 pounds) and Kevin (Jackson, 180.5) and I watch them all the time struggling with their weight,” he said. “I tease ‘em a little. I’ll walk in eating a hamburger.”

Notes

Portions of The Trials will be shown on ESPN2 Saturday, June 22, from 7 p.m.-8 p.m., and on ESPN Saturday, June 29, from 10 a.m.-11 a.m.

Olympic coach Joe Seay is looking forward to several intriguing battles that should emerge in Saturday’s finals.

Seay identified: 180.5 pounds, where top-seeded Les Gutches likely will face a rematch of the U.S. nationals final with Kevin Jackson; 114.5 pounds, where No. 1 seed Lou Rosselli and Zeke Jones (five-time U.S. champion) are expected to match up; and 125.5, where U.S. champ Kendall Cross and runner-up Terry Brands may collide.

Garth Brooks is the honorary U.S. team captain and he’s pictured on the team media guide.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Brackets 105.5 - Rob Eiter, Clarion, Pa.; Kanamti Solomon, New Castle, Del.; Tim Vanni, Phoenix; Eric Albarracin, Coral Springs, Fla.; Adrian Tramutola, Atlanta; Andy Munoz, Fresno, Calif.; Michael Bailey, St. Louis; David Range, Cleveland Heights, Ohio; Paul Widerman, Accord, N.Y. 114.5 - Lou Rosselli, Edinboro, Pa.; Zeke Jones, Chandler, Ariz.; Ed Giese, Woodale, Ill.; Eric Akin, Coralville, Iowa; Sheldon Thomas, Clarion, Pa.; Sean Kim, San Gabriel, Calif.; Brian Kapusta, Fargo, N.D.; Jason Gabrielson, Chesapeake Beach, Va.. 125.5 - Kendall Cross, Raleigh, N.C.; Terry Brands, Iowa City, Iowa; Chris Bollin, Waterloo, Iowa; Jeff Bedard, Phoenix; Adam Disabato, The Plains, Ohio; Brad Penrith, Lincoln, Neb.; Sheldon Kim, Placentia, Calif.; Eric Ivins, Norman, Okla.; Kevin Saniga, Edinboro, Pa.; Donnell Rawls, High Point, N.C. 136.5 - Tom Brands, Iowa City, Iowa; John Fisher, Ypsilanti, Mich.; Shawn Charles, Phoenix; Troy Steiner, Corvallis, Ore; Jared Ezzell, Atlanta; Steve St. John, Tempe, Ariz.; Charlie Heard, Morgantown, W.Va.; Tom Smith, Dubuque, Iowa; Don Reyes, Conshohocken, Pa.; Cary Kolat, Rices Landing, Pa. 149.5 - Townsend Saunders, Phoenix; Lincoln McIlravy, Iowa City, Iowa; Pat Santoro, Bethlehem, Pa.; Alen Fried, Bloomington, Ind.; Matt Demaray, Omaha, Neb.; Nate Carr, Westover, W.Va.; Steve Hamilton, Iowa City, Iowa; Terry Steiner, Corvallis, Ore.; Tom Shifflet, Atlanta; Thom Ortiz, Ames, Iowa; John Giura, Philadelphia. 163 - Kenny Monday, Phoenix; Dan St. John, Ames, Iowa; Sean Bormet, Madison, Wis.; Rob Koll, Dryden, N.Y.; Steve Marianetti, Champaign, Ill.; Pat Smith, Stillwater, Okla.; Homer Moore, Phoenix; Trevor Lewis, Malvern, Pa.; Brian Dolph, Upper Darby, Pa. 180.5 - Les Gutches, Corvallis, Ore.; Kevin Jackson, Gilbert, Ariz.; Royce Alger, Iowa City, Iowa; Rico Chiapparelli, New York; Derek Jones, Minneapolis; Jim Scherr, Colorado Springs; Zac Taylor, Minneapolis; Steve Williams, Phoenix; Chris Barnes, Spencer, Okla. 198 - Melvin Douglas, Phoenix; Mike Davies, Boise, Idaho; Johnny Curtis, Fairfax, Va.; Rex Holman, Columbus, Ohio; Dominic Black, Lexington, Ky.; Mike Van Arsdale, Phoenix; J.J. McGrew, Stillwater, Okla.; Andy Foster, Phoenix; Dave Malacek, Aurelia, Iowa; Jason Robison, Edinboro, Pa. 220 - Kurt Angle, Pittsburgh; Kerry McCoy, State College, Pa.; Jason Loukides, Edinboro, Pa.; Chris Short, St. Paul, Minn.; Dan Troupe, Kalispell, Mont.; Brooks Simpson, Iowa City, Iowa; Dan Chaid, San Jose, Calif.; Jon Llewellyn, Manteno, Ill.; Mark Kerr, Phoenix; Kirk Trost, Ann Arbor, Mich.; Mark Coleman, Columbus, Ohio. 286 - Bruce Baumgartner, Cambridge Springs, Pa.; Tom Erikson, West Lafayette, Ind.; Stephen Neal, Bakersfield, Calif.; Justin Greenlee, Ames, Iowa; Roger Neff, Tacoma, Wash.; Fred McGaver, Waukesha, Wis.; John Ward, Norman, Okla.; Brian Keck, Colorado Springs; Harold Smith, Akron, Ohio; Bill Closson, Pittsburgh.