Cowboy wrestler Fix returns to international competition with Team USA
Sep. 28—Daton Fix is adding another country to his growing list of international destinations.
The Oklahoma State wrestler, who has been to over 20 countries to compete, arrived in Oslo, Norway, over the weekend in preparation for the Senior World Championships scheduled to start Saturday.
Fix is representing Team USA at the World Championship for the second time in his career, competing in the 2019 Worlds at 57 kg, in which he went 1-1 in the bracket.
Fix earned his spot on Team USA earlier this month at the World Team Trials in Lincoln, Nebraska, by winning the 61 kg bracket. One of his victims on his way to the title was former Stillwater High grad — and now Cowboy wrestler — Carter Young, who went on to finish third in the bracket.
"I feel like I'm wrestling the best I have possibly ever, definitely in a long time," Fix said before heading to Norway. "My training has been going really well for the last couple months and a lot of that has shown, as it showed in the World Team Trials."
The World Championships will be his first event on the international stage since serving a one-year suspension by USADA after failing a drug test for a substance he did not realize he had consumed. He had competed as the No. 2 seed at 57 kg in the Olympic Team Trials in April, but was upset in the semifinals.
"It was definitely not easy, but I know God has a plan for me and I always keep that in mind," Fix said. "And that helps me move forward. I'm not going to dwell on the past. The only thing I can continue to do is get better. I know that if I keep living the lifestyle that I live, I'm gonna have a great opportunity to achieve my goals."
The Trials and now Worlds are Fix's first international competitions in which he's wrestled at 61 kg. He'd won several tournaments, including the 2017 U23 World Team Trials, the 2019 U.S. Open and the 2019 Pan American Games, at 57 kg. He had also won a Gold medal in the 2017 Junior World Championships at 55 kg (and bronze at the weight int he 2016 and 2018 Junior Worlds).
"That's a pretty optimal weight for me," Fix said of going up to 61 kg. "I don't have to kill myself making weight, which is always nice. I definitely feel good when I'm out there wrestling."
Due to the move up in weight, Fix will get a different experience at an international event.
Instead of wrestling later in the tournament as he normally had to 57 kg — meaning he was training all that time leading up to it — he'll be in competition on the very first day of the event, with 61 kg wrestling up through the semifinals on Saturday and the medal matches being wrestled Sunday.
Because of that, he'll get a different experience off the mat, as well.
"I've always been on the last day of competition, so you don't have a whole lot of time to explore or check anything out," Fix said. "But this time, I'm actually wrestling the first day of competition, so I'll have a couple of days after the tournament's over to explore and check out Norway. So I'm definitely excited for that."
Joining him on his trip with Team USA Wrestling is his father, Derek — who is the coach for the Cowboy Regional Training Center and runs the Cowboy Wrestling Club — and Oklahoma State assistant coach Zack Esposito.
The World Championships will be streamed by FloWrestling, which requires a subscription to watch.