Aden visits home for much needed R&R

Following a busy and productive wrestling season, the CNMI’s Aden Attao is back home for much needed rest and relaxation.

The up-and-coming 19-year-old wrestler arrived last week with his father Jesse to be with family after his last visit when he was 6 years old.

Attao was a CNMI National Wrestling Team hopeful for the 2024 Micronesian Games, but due to a hectic schedule of back-to-back travel and tournaments, he could just not find the time to suit up.

His father said in an interview last week, “it’s not that he doesn’t want to go to the Micronesian Games. It’s the fact that he has training camps to go to with Adam Coon to train for the Olympics, along with the [U20 Pan-American Championships] in July. There’s a lot of variables involved for him not to participate. Right now, it’s hard for him with all the travel, and to add another long trip like that, it’s very daunting for his body. We don’t want to wear out his body and mind as far as that’s concerned.”

While back home on Saipan, Aden’s spending time with family as his grandmother, Ramona is ill, but will also try to find the time to train with the athletes for the Micro Games, along with getting some much needed rest.

Aden said about being back home, “it’s fun. It’s a good experience. I’ve missed the family and being here—as much as the humidity is killing me. Outside of that, I’ve been fine. It’s fun being back and seeing everybody that I haven’t seen in so long.”

Last April, the Oregon State University Beaver placed third in the 130-kg Greco-Roman Challenge Tournament Finals during the 2024 Olympic Wrestling Trials in Pennsylvania and is the training partner of Adam Coon of the U.S.A. Olympic Wrestling Team.

With that, he is now the alternate for Coon in the Olympics as the second place had an injury. Basically, if anything befalls Coon—injury or illness prior to the Olympics, Attao will take his place.

Aden said his ultimate goal in the sport is to reach and win in the Olympics. “Since I started, the ultimate goal is to win the Olympics. All of these are just stepping stones up until that point,” he said.

He started wrestling when he was 7 years old and now, his competitors in the multiple tournaments he’s joined are in their late 20s to 30s.

Right after the Olympic Trials, Attao took to the mat again and placed first in the 130-kg division of the 2024 U.S. Open Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada. Then, just before flying out to Saipan, he competed in the U.S.A. Wrestling U23 Nationals and U20 World Team Trials in Ohio, where he made the 2024 U20 Greco World Team.

Aden already has a long list of travel for wrestling tournaments waiting for him after his short vacation back home. But before the tourneys, he’s attending the Olympic Wrestling Team Camp in Colorado to get his rhythm back when he leaves this Friday.

This July 11-13, Aden is suiting up for the U20 Pan-American Championships in Lima, Peru. The wrestling schedule for the 2024 Paris Olympics is set for August, then he takes on the U20 World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain from September 2-8. Then, he flies once again to Europe for the U23 World Championships in Tirana, Albania.

Aden is the son of Jesse Attao and Stacey Hammar, and the grandson of Jesus and Ramona Attao of Navy Hill.