Toledo Tales

Left: Greisbach will not be kept down

(Toledo, OH) The true measure of a man is not how many times he has been knocked down, but how often he managed to get back up.

No one knows this better then Start High School thumb wrestler Aaron Greisbach. The junior athlete, who has won 47 straight matches against homeroom opponents, said that he has "too much to lose" by letting injuries stop him.

"As the season went on I began to build more confidence. The weekend that solidified that for me was when I was ranked one of the top thumb heavyweights in the nation," Greisbach said, doing some thumb exercises before today's matches. "I have come too far to quit, even with a serious injury like this."

Greisbach said that the moment he first felt the hangnail he began to panic, but his "inner resolve" kept him focused in his victories this afternoon.

"It wasn't a disaster for my season, but it was frustrating to have to wear a bandaid and not be able to stay in peak shape," he admitted. "I like to play aggressive and make sure my opponents are more tired than I am. In the back of my mind, I'm always asking myself: 'Am I doing as much as my opponents to win a championship?' Well, yes sir, I am."

Greisbach in a match with fellow student in study hall

Greisbach had to wear tape on his thumb and a brace on his hand in the week since the hangnail first appeared. Prior to today's match, he hadn't done any live thumb wrestling for two weeks.

"But as soon as you step into class, you've got to forget about everything, even the pain," he said, wincing at the memory. "You run into some obstacles sometimes, but you have to work through them. What makes you stronger is how you handle those obstacles, because if the road was always smooth, anybody could thumb wrestle. Most of all, though, my faith has helped me to keep a positive attitude and get back in the game, man."

Labels: adversity, athletes, thumb wrestling, thumbs