Former UFC Star Calls Kurt Angle's Bluff at the Olympic Training Center

It's been almost 16 years since former WWE champion Kurt Angle won an Olympic Gold Medal in Atlanta. Competing with a broken neck, Angle took on all comers to earn a place among the all-time great American wrestlers.

Now 43 years old, the TNA wrestler is looking to beat the odds one more time and earn a place on the 2012 Olympic team. It seems like a long shot for a wrestler who hasn't competed on the mat since Bill Clinton was President. But Angle tells Fox Sports he's got one more run left in his battered body - and this time he intends to enjoy the ride:

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“In ’96, I didn’t really enjoy it — I was relieved when it was over. I feel I missed the whole ride. Because I don’t remember anything. I want to experience it, to enjoy it. Back then it was more a job to me. I put pressure on myself. I didn’t enjoy any aspect of it. I was so focused, I don’t remember anything about it. Nothing. I don’t even remember the podium.”

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At the Olympic Training Center in Colorado, no one is buying it. 1992 Olympic Silver medalist Matt Lindland, a former UFC star in town to work with the next generation of Greco Roman stars, says Angle's supposed comeback is more publicity stunt than legitimate athletic endeavor.

"No one here thinks we'll see Kurt at the trials," Lindland said. "I'd bet that we never see him weigh in or on the mat. He's been gone for so long and his body has too much mileage on it. But it's Olympic season and there is some publicity out there if you know how to find it. Kurt does."

For his part, Angle understands there will be skeptics. He hopes to show up Lindland and other doubters with a triumphant return:

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"When I show up at the trials, people will say, ‘Holy (crap), he showed up.’ If I do well, it’ll be, ‘Holy (crap), he did well.’ They’re going to respect me.”

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