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By KIM HAN IL, Staff Writer
9/1/04
Hammer throw gold-medalist Koji Murofushi arrives at Narita airport on Tuesday wearing a golden necktie.
`I believe the god of wrestling wants me to continue. I'll keep on fighting with my sister Kaori for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.'
CHIHARU ICHO, silver medalist
A smiling contingent of Japanese Olympians arrived back in Japan on Tuesday and were greeted by more than 300 happy fans at Narita airport.
``The performances of Japanese athletes in Athens showed the world the beauty of Japanese sports,'' said Japanese Olympic Committee president Tsunekazu Takeda at a news conference later at a Tokyo hotel. ``And we showed all Japanese children who want to become athletes that their dreams can come true.''
Japan exceeded its goal of 10 gold medals by winning 16, which ties the record amount won at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Games.
Japan added nine silver and 12 bronze medals to its Athens gold rush for a record 37 medals.
``Before the Games, we hoped for more than 10 gold medals,'' said JOC senior executive board member Tomiaki Fukuda. ``Our athletes won many international competitions prior to the Olympics, so I was confident they would have a terrific Games.''
Seventeen medalists attended the news conference, including Japan's last-minute surprise gold-medal winner.
``With the cooperation of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and the JOC, I was able to take a gold medal,'' said hammer throw champion Koji Murofushi. ``Frankly, I'm pleased I got gold. I want to show the medal to everyone.''
Murofushi originally won the silver, but Hungary's Adrian Annus was stripped of his gold medal on the final day of the Games for failing to comply to a post-event drug test. Annus was out-Japan's iron man was given the gold.
A notable athlete who didn't win a medal was also in attendance.
``I feel sorry for those who supported me--I let them down,'' said Olympic team captain Kosei Inoue, who suffered unexpected losses in an early round and in a consolation match in judo's 100- kilogram category. ``As captain, I'm proud of our team and happy with the team's wonderful results.''
Although disappointed by his elimination as a medal contender, Inoue proved to be a true team captain and attended other events to support and cheer his teammates.
``I lost early,'' he said. ``But I wanted everyone else to do well.''
Wrestler Kyoko Hamaguchi was also tagged to win gold, but had to settle for bronze after an early round upset defeat in the 72-kg class. She said she was glad to get bronze and will always cherish her other role.
``I'm really happy I got to be the flagbearer at both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. It was an honor I shall never forget.''
The Japan women's wrestlers had a terrific debut in Athens. The four fighting females brought home two gold medals; one silver; and one bronze. And they aren't done yet.
``If I had won the gold medal, I would have quit wrestling after graduation,'' said Chiharu Icho of her 48-kg silver medal. ``I believe the god of wrestling wants me to continue. I'll keep on fighting with my sister Kaori for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.''(IHT/Asahi: September 1,2004) (09/01)
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OLYMPIC ASPIRATIONS
Mount Vernon's Vanessa Oswalt aims to reach the Summer Games in women's
wrestling, sooner or later
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
By James Walker
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
MANSFIELD, Ohio -- Blood trickled down one of Vanessa Oswalt's teeth
toward the end of wrestling practice Monday.
Once told, she placed her thumb on her tooth and smiled briefly as she
walked off the mat.
''Thank you. I probably needed that,'' she said.
The moment provided some insight into the type of person and competitor
that Oswalt is. She grew up playing Pop Warner football and initially didn't
like softball because she thought it was ''too slow.'' She was introduced to
wrestling at age 8 when her older brother used her as a guinea pig to
practice some new moves, and she's been hooked since.
Nine years later, while other juniors at Mount Vernon High School might
be trying to decide on a summer job, Oswalt is one step away from the
Olympic Games in Athens.
She will compete in the 138.75-pound weight class this weekend in the
U.S. Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. This is the first year that women's
wrestling will be an Olympic event, and Oswalt, 17, is one of the
youngest competitors.
She qualified for the trials by finishing sixth at the U.S. Nationals
last month. Oswalt is an underdog, and she said her sights are set on
gaining experience and preparing herself for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
''Placing top six in the trials this year is the goal I set for
myself,'' Oswalt said. ''I don't think I'm really prepared for it, but I'm doing
the best I can where I'm at. I'm just trying for the 2008 Olympics; that's
where my goal really is.''
The fact that Oswalt is competing in such a physically demanding sport
is a wonder in itself.
When Oswalt was 8 months old, doctors discovered that her right hip
socket was not completely formed and prevented her leg from remaining stable.
The hip defect required her to wear leg braces for 10 months.
She still suffers from the condition and recently gave up a number of
sports that were too demanding on her legs, such as basketball and
long-distance running.
''She was having a lot of inflammation,'' her mother, Tracey, said.
Vanessa Oswalt has never had a problem with her hip during a wrestling
match, but she said her leg briefly pops out of socket fairly often in
practice.
''When I'm in practice, it will pop out or it will slide, and then it
will pop right back in,'' Oswalt said. ''It does it about once every week,
but there's more inflammation that happens than anything.''
Jim Speelman, head of the S.W. Force Wrestling Club in Mansfield, is
coaching Oswalt. He didn't meet her until recently but was familiar
with her performances for Mount Vernon coach John Brown.
Wrestling between 135 and 140 pounds against boys' competition, Oswalt
is a 22-23 in two years on the varsity level. She was 18-3 against
junior-varsity opponents as a sophomore.
Speelman said some of the wrestlers in his club, not knowing Oswalt's
pedigree, were hesitant at first, until she quickly began to throw them
around the mat.
''It's one of those things where they weren't too sure about it at
first,'' Speelman said. ''But when she didn't take it easy on them, she's earned
their respect.''
Underdog or not, the chance for Oswalt to earn a spot and compete in
Athens is there. Her father, Mike, can only imagine the prospect of his
daughter winning it all this weekend.
''In some way, shape or form, I don't know how I would handle that,''
he said. ''I wouldn't know how to handle myself, because I would never
expect her to be at that level at this young age. But you never know. There is
an opportunity, and if the door opens, we want her to grab that
opportunity.''
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WOMEN WRESTLERS BUILDING FAN BASE
Monday, May 24, 2004
By Todd Jones
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
INDIANAPOLIS -- The boys kept walking up to the wrestler who had just
earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic team.
One after another they kept gathering together with pens in hand. At
one point, nine boys were lined up for autographs.
"This is pretty cool,'' Sara McMann said.
Think grappling and you think pain, bruises, welts, blood. You think
muscles and mayhem.
You think unleashed testosterone.
Now, you also think about Sara McMann, a 138.75-pound freestyle
wrestling champion, signing autographs for little boys.
McMann, Patricia Miranda, Tela O'Donnell and Toccara Montgomery of
Cleveland will represent the United States in Athens this August when women's
wrestling makes its Olympic debut.
"To be an Olympian and to be a pioneer is a phenomenal thing,''
Montgomery said.
She earned that opportunity by winning the 158.5-pound freestyle
division yesterday on the final day of the U.S. Olympic Trials for wrestling.
The women haven't always been so fortunate in winning over their
critics.
"Some people think it's taboo,'' Montgomery said.
One person with interest in, but not affiliated with, Ohio State
wrestling approached me here in the media room and commented on a Dispatch story
last week about Vanessa Oswalt, a Mount Vernon High School junior who
wrestled here in the Olympic Trials.
"That was a load of bunk,'' the elderly man said of the story.
Miranda, the 105.5-pound champion, has heard worse since she took up
wrestling as a freshman at Saratoga (Calif.) High School and continued
in the sport at Stanford University.
"In high school,'' she recalled, "guys at other schools would say,
'You're a joke. You shouldn't be on the mat. Who are you kidding?' ''
Terry Steiner, the U.S. women's Olympic coach, has encountered
resistance, too.
"People are respectful to my face, but I know when I turn around
there's daggers in my back,'' he said. "Some people come up to me and are just
openly opposed to women's wrestling.''
He said such resistance comes from inside the wrestling community more
than outside it. Detractors of women's wrestling tell Steiner it's taking
away from men's wrestling. Many mention Title IX legislation to him.
Some have even quoted the Bible to Steiner as proof that women
shouldn't be wrestling.
"We're in it because we believe in the sport and what it teaches,'' he
said. "It teaches life lessons, character development and dealing with
adversity. Why would you want to deny that to half the population?''
Miranda's own father, Jose, was so against the idea of her wrestling
that he threatened to sue her high school if it allowed her to participate. He
relented once his daughter promised to get straight A's in her classes.
"When I'm on my deathbed, I want to ask myself how much did I explore
myself and challenge myself?'' Patricia Miranda said.
Of course, the challenge of accepting women's wrestling has much to do
with critics refusing to get past long-held beliefs about femininity.
O'Donnell didn't have makeup on her face after she upset Tina George of
Cleveland in yesterday's 121-pound competition.
Instead, she had a cut on the bridge of her nose, a purple bruise on
her left cheek and a huge welt on the right side of her forehead.
"Every woman is different,'' said O'Donnell, holding an ice bag. "A lot
of people want to keep their girlish face. I wear (my bruises) with
pride.''
Miranda has endured sexual chants from males in crowds at wrestling
tournaments. Sometimes females voiced their opposition to her
participation.
"Mothers (of high-school wrestlers) would be the most outraged,'' she
said. "The kids took it pretty well.''
The kids in the RCA Dome here didn't seem to have any problems with
women's wrestling.
Little boys surrounded McMann as if she were one of the guys.