A Madill coach is headed to the 2028 Olympics that will be held in Los Angeles, Calif. Madill Wrestling Assistant Coach, Peter Hammer, will be representing Costa Rica in the Olympics. Hammer took 19th place in the world competition and earned his way into the next Olympic games
Hammer was born in San Jose, CRC. He lived there until he was eight years old before his adoption by his parents in Texas. Hammer grew up in the DFW area, where he started the first part of his education being homeschooled. Once he became a freshman, Hammer attended a private school, Liberty Christian. This is where he was first exposed to athletics and found his niche.
Hammer immediately jumped in full force with his interest in wrestling. He wanted to excel and did everything to achieve his goals. Freshman year, Hammer took 3rd at state competition. When Hammer was a sophomore, he won 2nd place at state. Continually gaining ground and moving up in competitions, he went on to win 1st place at state his junior year of high school.
When he was a senior, he became a three-time 1st place winner at state in Freestyle, Folkstyle, and Greco-Roman.
Hammer said he contributes his success to two coaches who trained him. The renowned Fourtime NCAA finalist Roger Frizzell, of Kingston, who offered free training clinics at OU during that time. Hammer spent most of his time training and learning strategies from Frizzell that propelled him into success, refining his techniques and strategies.
During high school, he attended a 10-day wrestling camp at OSU during the summers for additional training. The coach at the OSU wrestling camp during those years was 6x Olympic Gold champion and four-time world champion, John Smith.
After graduating in 2011, Hammer “walked-on” to college at OSU to pursue athletics with an academic pre-med scholarship. He continued to train with coach Smith for the 2011-2012 seasons. During his second semester, he struggled with balancing both his athletics and academics simultaneously. Hammer and his parents decided to put his schooling as the highest priority and main focus, thus ending Hammer’s wrestling pursuit
Hammer moved back to Texas where he finished his under-grad at the University of North Texas. He graduated in 2018 with a double major in Bio-Medical Engineering and Spanish. He also earned a double minor in Mathematics, as well as Mechanical and Energy Engineering.
In 2018, Hammer married the love of his life Erica Warfield. The two met in 2014 while attending Ballroom Dance Classes.
Hammer then started his own company. He had a passion for developing communications.
He had many years in sales being introduced to different branches of successful opportunities while building relationships and a strong network. Hammer made quite the career out of selling new homes, but the spark in his life was fadin..
“The home sales was just not my cup of tea,” he said.
He found a new path to pursue as a Logistics Broker which he enjoyed more. His passion for wrestling laid in the background of his mind.
Hammer started training again to get back into adequate shape to again pursue his wrestling career. He entered into team trials for the Tokyo Olympics held in Ft Worth, Texas with only three days’ notice.
“After that the hook was set,” said Hammer.
Hammer went to OSU joiningtheCowboysRegional Training Center. He again linked up with Frizzell in Kingston, making the trip to trainwithhimeveryweekend fromStillwater.Thistraining with Frizzell prepared him for all the international events. From the Pan-Am’s, up to the World Competition in Tirana, Albania where he finished 19th in the World on October 30-31, 2024.
Frizzell encouraged him to continue his wrestling career and helped him knock down those mental barriers. Frizzell also inspired him to give back to the wrestling community by becoming a coach and has helped him throughout his journey.
Hammer is currently the assistant wrestling coach at Madill and the 6th-8th Special Education Teacher. He coaches junior high and high school boys and girls. He is also offering his students free clinics to sharpen their skills, giving the opportunities he had once received when he was in school to the kids of Madill.