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2007 World Championships preview at 72 kg/158.5 lbs. in women’s freestyle wrestling

Gary Abbott USA Wrestling
09/16/2007

The reigning World champion is Bulgaria’s Stanka Zlateva, a veteran who has seemed to come into her own in the last few years. Zlateva has won the European title for the last two years, and will come into Baku with tremendous confidence. Many remember last year’s gold-medal bout, when she defeated five-time World champion Kyoko Hamaguchi. Japanese media made a big issue about an apparent headbutt by Zlateva early in that match, and it will be an interesting rematch if the two wrestlers meet again this year.

Hamaguchi has been the dominant athlete at this weight class in the last decade, and is a national hero in her nation. The last few seasons have been a bit disappointing for her. She won a bronze at the 2004 Olympic Games, then lost in the finals at the last two World Championships. She won the Asian Championships again this year. At 30 years old, it is possible that her best days have passed, yet she remains the top favorite to win this division every year.

Kristie Marano of the United States, a two-time World champion, returns after winning a bronze medal last year. Marano has been to eight World Championships and has won a medal all eight times, an amazing streak of excellence and consistency. To make the U.S. team, she must beat athletes such as 2005 World champion Iris Smith and past University World champion Stephany Lee. Marano’s last World title was in 2003, and she is dedicated to climbing to the top of the podium again this year.

The 2004 Olympic champion Wang Xu of China will be her nation’s entry this year and is another top star who is very capable of winning it all. Last year, China entered Wang Jiao, who finished 10th in the standings. Xu won bronze medals at both the World Cup and the Asian Championships this year, not the kind of performances that she is capable of. She seems to have a rivalry with Hamaguchi developing, since she was the person that beat her at the Olympic Games.

Russia is loaded at this weight class, and lists 2004 Olympic silver medalist Gouzel Manyurova as its entry this year. Manyurova was third at the European Championships this year, and won a gold medal at the World Cup. Last year Elena Perepelkina won a World bronze for Russia at this weight, but she is listed as an alternate behind Manyurova.

In addition to the many past champions and medalists in the field, many of the others expected in Baku have considerable international experience and talent. Canada’ Ohenewa Akuffo has yet to win a World medal, but has won numerous international medals, including a victory at the 2006 World Cup over Hamaguchi. Two European stars, Svetlana Sayenko of Ukraine and Anita Schaetzle of Germany, won World bronze medals in 2005 and have also a long list of international achievements.

2006 Junior World champion Vasilisa Marzaliuk of Belarus placed fifth in the World last year, and is a strong contender. Jenny Fransson of Sweden, a Junior World bronze medalist this year, is capable of breaking into the medal rounds. Bumaa Orchirbat of Mongolia, a past World University champion, returns this year, after a different athlete competed for her nation at last year’s World meet. Olga Zhanibekova of Kazakhstan and Yana Panova of Kyrgyzstan are top contenders who won medals at this year’s Asian Championships.

This weight class is loaded with talent and experience. As in other years, beating Japan’s Kyoko Hamaguchi is a major focus for all the competitors. However, Hamaguchi’s last gold medal came in 2003. It will be interesting to see if returning champion Stanka Zlateva has continued to improve and is capable of winning this title two seasons in a row. Kristie Marano of the USA is capable of winning any tournament she enters, and the Olympic champion, Wang Xu of China, is also in the mix. This will be an exciting division to watch.

RECENT WORLD AND OLYMPIC RESULTS

2006 World Championships results
72 kg/158.5 lbs. – Gold - Stanka Zlateva (Bulgaria); Silver - Kyoko Hamaguchi (Japan); Bronze - Elena Perepelkina (Russia); Bronze - Kristie Marano (United States); 5th - Vasilisa Marzaliuk (Belarus); 5th - Ohenewa Akuffo (Canada); 7th - Svitlana Saenko (Ukraine); 8th - Jenny Fransson (Sweden); 9th - Maria-Louisa Vrioni (Greece); 10th - Wang Jiao (China)

2005 World Championships results
72 kg/158.5 lbs. - Gold - Iris Smith (USA); Silver - Kyoko Hamaguchi (Japan); Bronze - Anita Schaetzle (Germany); Bronze - Svetlana Sayenko (Ukraine); 5th - Stanka Zlateva (Bulgaria); 5th - Jiao Wang (China); 7th - Ohenewa Akuffo (Canada); 8th - Bumaa Orchirbat (Mongolia); 9th - Marina Gastl (Austria); 10th - Olga Zhanibekova (Kazakhstan)

2004 Olympic Games results
72 kg/158.5 lbs. - Gold – Wang Xu (China); Silver - Gouzel Maniorova (Russia); Bronze – Kyoko Hamaguchi (Japan); 4th – Svitlana Sayenko (Ukraine); 5th – Christine Nordhagen (Canada); 6th – Anita Schaetzle (Germany); 7th – Toccara Montgomery (USA); 8th – Maria Louiza Vryoni (Greece); 9th – Marina Gastl (Austria); 10th – Burmaa Ochirbat (Mongolia)

2003 World Championships results
72 kg/158.5 lbs. - Gold – Kyoko Hamaguchi (Japan) dec. Toccara Montgomery (United States), 4-1; Bronze – Wang Xu (China) pin Stanka Zlateva Hristova (Bulgaria), 2:39; 5th – Anita Schaetzle (Germany); 6th – Marina Gastl (Austria); 7th – Edyta Witkowska (Poland); 8th – Svetlana Yaroshevich (Kazakhstan); 9th – Gouzel Maniourova (Russia); 10th – Min-Jeong Kang (Korea)

2002 World Championships results
72 kg/158.5 lbs. - 1st - Kyoko Hamaguchi (Japan) dec. Wang Xu (China), 5-1; 3rd - Edyte Witkowska (Poland) won by ref. dec. over Zarife Yilidrim (Turkey), 2-0, ot, 9:00; 5th - Katerina Halova (Czech Rep.); 6th - Galina Ivanova (Bulgaria); 7th - Svitlana Sayenko (Ukraine); 8th - Katarzyna Juszczak (Italy); 9th - Anita Schatzle (Germany); 10th - Toccara Montgomery (USA)

2001 World Championships results
75 kg/165.25 - Gold - Edyta Witkowska (Poland) dec. Ma Bailing (China), 6-0; Bronze - Nina Englisch (Germany) pin Kyoko Hamaguchi (Japan); 5th - Jenna Pavlik (USA); 6th - Kang Min-Jeong (Korea); 7th - Tetyana Komarnitska (Ukraine); 8th - Yasmili Ramos (Venezuela); 9th - Zumrud Kurbangadzieva (Russia); 10th - Akuffo Ohenewa (Canada)
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Journalists pick the winners at the World Wrestling Championships in Azerbaijan

Various international journalists
09/16/2007

Each year, TheMat.com polls a number of international wrestling journalists to predict the gold medalists at the World Wrestling Championships or the Olympic Games.

This year, our panel of journalists have made their picks of who they expect will win gold medals at the 2007 World Wrestling Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 17-23.

IKUO HIGUCHI
Japan Wrestling Federation website

Men’s Freestyle champions
55 kg/121 lbs. - Dilshod Mansurov (Uzbekistan)
60 kg/132 lbs. – Seyed Mohammadi (Iran)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Albert Batyrov (Belarus)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Makhach Murtazaliev (Russia)
84 kg/185 lbs. – Taras Danko (Ukraine)
96 kg/211.5 lbs. – Khadshimourad Gatsalov (Russia)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Artur Taymazov (Uzbekistan)

Greco-Roman champions
55 kg/121 lbs. – Rovshan Bayramov (Azerbaijan)
60 kg/132 lbs. – Eusebiu Diaconu (Romania)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Kanatbek Begaliev (Kirghizistan)
74 kg/163 lbs. – Vladimir Shatskikh (Ukraine)
84 kg/185 lbs. - Alexej Mishin (Russia)
96 kg/211.5 lbs. – Mohammed Abdelfatah (Egypt)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Khassan Baroev (Russia)

Women’s Freestyle champions
48 kg/105.5 lbs. – Irini Merleni (Ukraine)
51 kg/112.25 lbs. – Hitomi Sakamoto (Japan)
55 kg/121 lbs. - Saori Yoshida (Japan)
59 kg/130 lbs. - Ayako Shoda (Japan)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Kaori Icho (Japan)
67 kg/147.5 lbs. - Jing Rui Xue (China)
72 kg/158.5 lbs. – Kyoko Hamaguchi (Japan)

JASON BRYANT
InterMat

Men’s Freestyle champions
55 kg/121 lbs. - Radoslav Velikov (Bulgaria)
60 kg/132 lbs. - Yandro Quintana (Cuba)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Serafim Barzakov (Bulgaria)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Mahach Murtazaliev (Russia)
84 kg/185 lbs. - Reza Yazdani (Iran)
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - George Gogsehelidze (Georgia)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Artur Taymazov (Uzbekistan)

Greco-Roman champions
55 kg/121 lbs. - Lindsey Durlacher (United States)
60 kg/132 lbs. - David Bedinadze (Georgia)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Harry Lester (United States)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Mark Madsen (Denmark)
84 kg/185 lbs. - Ara Abrahamian (Sweden)
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Karam Gaber (Egypt)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Dremiel Byers (United States)

Women’s Freestyle champions
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Chiharu Icho (Japan)
51 kg/112.25 lbs. - Hitomi Sakamoto (Japan)
55 kg/121 lbs. - Saori Yoshida (Japan)
59 kg/130 lbs. - Nataliya Synyshyn (Ukraine)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Sara McMann (United States)
67 kg/147.5 lbs. - Martine Dugrenier (Canada)
72 kg/158.5 lbs. - Kristie Marano (United States)

EDDIE GOLDMAN
No Holds Barred
Men's Freestyle champions
55 kg/121 lbs. - Besik Kudukhov (Russia)
60 kg/132 lbs. - Seyed Mourad Mohammadi (Iran)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Geandry Garzon (Cuba)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Mahach Murtazaliev (Russia)
84 kg/185 lbs. - Georgy Ketoev (Russia)
96 kg/211.25 lbs. - Khajimurad Gatsalov (Russia)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Artur Taimazov (Uzbekistan)

Men's Greco-Roman champions
55 kg/121 lbs. - Roushan Bayramov (Azerbaijan)
60 kg/132 lbs. - Eusebiu Diaconu (Romania)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Harry Lester (USA)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Manuchar Krirkvelia (Georgia)
84 kg/185 lbs. - Alexey Mishine (Russia)
96 kg/211.25 lbs. - Karam Ibrahim Gaber (Egypt)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Khassan Baroev (Russia)

Women's Freestyle champions
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Chiharu Icho (Japan)
51 kg/112.25 lbs. - Hitomi Sakamoto (Japan)
55 kg/121 lbs. - Saori Yoshida (Japan)
59 kg/130 lbs. - Ayako Shoda (Japan)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Kaori Icho (Japan)
67 kg/147.5 lbs. - Jing Rui Xue (China)
72 kg/158.5 lbs. - Stanka Zlateva (Bulgaria)

CLINT KINGSBURY
Canadian Wrestling Federation

Men’s Freestyle champions
55 kg/121 lbs. – Besik Kudukhov (Russia)
60 kg/132 lbs. – Yandro Quintana (Cuba)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Geandry Garzon (Cuba)
74 kg/163 lbs. – Makhach Murtazaliev (Russia)
84 kg/185 lbs. – Sajid Sajidov (Russia)
96 kg/211.25 lbs. – Khadijumurad Gatsalov (Russia)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Tommy Rowlands (United States)

Greco-Roman champions
55 kg/121 lbs. – Armen Amoyan (Armenia)
60 kg/132 lbs. – Ali Askhani (Iran)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Nikolay Gergov (Bulgaria)
74 kg/163 lbs. – Manuchar Kvirkvelia (Georgia)
84 kg/185 lbs. – Alexsey Michine (Russia)
96 kg/211.25 lbs. – Karim Gaber (Egypt)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Mijail Lopez (Cuba)

Women’s Freestyle champions
48 kg/105.5 lbs. – Carol Huynh (Canada)
51 kg/112.25 lbs. – Patricia Miranda (United States)
55 kg/121 lbs. – Tonya Verbeek (Canada)
59 kg/130 lbs. – Ida-Theres Karlsson (Sweden)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. – Sara McMann (United States)
67 kg/147.5 lbs. – Martine DuGrenier (Canada)
72 kg/158.5 lbs. – Ohenewa Akuffo (Canada)

MIKE FINN
Wrestling International Newsmagazine

Men’s Freestyle champions
55 kg/121 lbs. - Besik Kudukhov (Russia)
60 kg/132 lbs. - Mike Zadick (United States)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Geandry Garzon (Cuba)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Asghar Ali Bazrighaleh (Iran)
84 kg/185 lbs. - Revaz Mindorashvili (Georgia)
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Khadshimourad Gatsalov (Russia)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Artur Taymazov (Uzebekistan)

Greco-Roman champions
55 kg/121 lbs. - Rovshan Bayramov (Azerbaijan)
60 kg/132 lbs. - David Bedinadze (Georgia)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Harry Lester (United States)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Manuchar Kvirkvelia (Georgia)
84 kg/185 lbs. - Alexej Mishin (Russia)
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Justin Ruiz (USA)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Khassan Baroev (Russia)

Women’s Freestyle champions
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Chiharu Icho (Japan)
51 kg/112.25 lbs. - Patricia Miranda (United States)
55 kg/121 lbs. - Saori Yoshida (Japan)
59 kg/130 lbs. - Ayako Shoda (Japan)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Sara McMann (United States)
67 kg/147.5 lbs. - Martine Dugrenier (Canada)
72 kg/158.5 lbs. - Kristie Marano (United States)

CRAIG SESKER
USA Wrestling/TheMat.com

Men’s Freestyle champions
55 kg/121 lbs. – Besik Kudukhov (Russia)
60 kg/132 lbs. – Mike Zadick (United States)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Geandry Garzon (Cuba)
74 kg/163 lbs. – Ibraghim Aldatov (Ukraine)
84 kg/185 lbs. – Joe Williams (United States)
96 kg/211.25 lbs. – Khadjimurad Gatsalov (Russia)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Artur Taymazov (Uzbekistan)

Greco-Roman champions
55 kg/121 lbs. – Hamid Sourian (Iran)
60 kg/132 lbs. – Eusebiu Diaconu (Romania)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Harry Lester (United States)
74 kg/163 lbs. – Marko Yli-Hannuksela (Finland)
84 kg/185 lbs. – Brad Vering (United States)
96 kg/211.25 lbs. – Heiki Nabi (Estonia)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Mijial Lopez (Cuba)

Women’s Freestyle champions
48 kg/105.5 lbs. – Carol Huyhn (Canada)
51 kg/112.25 lbs. – Hitomi Sakamoto (Japan)
55 kg/121 lbs. – Saori Yoshida (Japan)
59 kg/130 lbs. – Ayako Shoda (Japan)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. – Sara McMann (United States)
67 kg/147.5 lbs. – Katie Downing (United States)
72 kg/158.5 lbs. – Stanka Zlateva (Bulgaria)

MAAHYAR RASSAEI
Iran Wrestling

Men’s Freestyle champions
55 kg/121 lbs. – Dilshod Mansurov (Uzbekistan)
60 kg/132 lbs. – Morad Mohammadi (Iran)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Albert Batirov (Belarus)
74 kg/163 lbs. – Makhach Murtazaliev (Russia)
84 kg/185 lbs. – Georgi Ketoev (Russia)
96 kg/211.25 lbs. – Khetag Guzimov (Azerbaijan)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Beylal Makhov (Russia)

Greco-Roman champions
55 kg/121 lbs. – Hamid Sourian (Iran)
60 kg/132 lbs. – Eusebiu Diacono (Romania)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Nikolay Gergov (Bulgaria)
74 kg/163 lbs. – Manuchar Kvirkvelia (Georgia)
84 kg/185 lbs. – Alexij Michine (Russia)
96 kg/211.25 lbs. – Ramaz Nozadze (Georgia)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Mijial Lopez (Cuba)

Women’s Freestyle champions
48 kg/105.5 lbs. – Enkhargal Tsogtbazar (Mongolia)
51 kg/112.25 lbs. – Patricia Miranda (United States)
55 kg/121 lbs. – Saori Yoshida (Japan)
59 kg/130 lbs. – Ayako Shoda (Japan)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. – Kaori Icho (Japan)
67 kg/147.5 lbs. – Anna Polvneva (Russia)
72 kg/158.5 lbs. – Stanka Zlateva (Bulgaria)

AL BEVILACQUA
www.nywrestling.com

Men’s Freestyle champions
55 kg/121 lbs. – Besik Kudukhov (Russia)
60 kg/132 lbs. – Yandro Quintana (Cuba)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Irbek Farniev (Russia)
74 kg/163 lbs. – Makhach Murtazaliev (Russia)
84 kg/185 lbs. – Reza Yazdani (Iran)
96 kg/211.25 lbs. – Khadjiumurad Gatsalov (Russia)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Artur Taymazov (Uzbekistan)

Greco-Roman champions
55 kg/121 lbs. – Lindsey Durlacher (United States)
60 kg/132 lbs. – Roberto Monzon (Cuba)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Li Yanyan (China)
74 kg/163 lbs. – Manuchar Kvirkvelia (Georgia)
84 kg/185 lbs. – Alexei Michine (Russia)
96 kg/211.25 lbs. – Justin Ruiz (USA)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Mijial Lopez (Cuba)

Women’s Freestyle champions
48 kg/105.5 lbs. – Chicharu Icho (Japan)
51 kg/112.25 lbs. – Hitomi Sakamoto (Japan)
55 kg/121 lbs. – Saori Yoshida (Japan)
59 kg/130 lbs. – Ayako Shoda (Japan)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. – Kaori Icho (Japan)
67 kg/147.5 lbs. – Jing Rui Xue (China)
72 kg/158.5 lbs. – Daria Nazarova (Russia)

GARY ABBOTT
TheMat.com/USA Wrestling

Men’s Freestyle champions
55 kg/121 lbs. – Radoslav Velikov (Bulgaria)
60 kg/132 lbs. – Yandro Quintana (Cuba)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Albert Batyrov (Belarus)
74 kg/163 lbs. – Makhach Murtazaliev (Russia)
84 kg/185 lbs. – Georgi Ketoev (Russia)
96 kg/211.25 lbs. – Daniel Cormier (United States)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Artur Taymazov (Uzbekistan)

Greco-Roman champions
55 kg/121 lbs. – Roushan Bayramov (Azerbaijan)
60 kg/132 lbs. – Eusebiu Diacono (Romania)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Harry Lester (United States)
74 kg/163 lbs. – Manuchar Kvirkvelia (Georgia)
84 kg/185 lbs. – Alexei Michine (Russia)
96 kg/211.25 lbs. – Ramaz Nozadze (Georgia)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Mijial Lopez (Cuba)

Women’s Freestyle champions
48 kg/105.5 lbs. – Irini Merlini (Ukraine)
51 kg/112.25 lbs. – Hitomi Sakamoto (Japan)
55 kg/121 lbs. – Saori Yoshida (Japan)
59 kg/130 lbs. – Su Lihui (China)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. – Sara McMann (United States)
67 kg/147.5 lbs. – Martine Dugrenier (Canada)
72 kg/158.5 lbs. – Kristie Marano (United States)

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WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ATHLETE JOURNAL (Updated Sept. 16): Women's team completes training in Austria, ready to travel to Baku

Katie Downing Team USA
09/16/2007

katie We’re leaving Austria tomorrow. That’s when some of the craziness will begin. We’ve been able to make our own schedule and do our own thing here. Our time here with good living and training conditions has fortified our reserves so that we’ll be able to stay focused and relatively stress-free when we get to Baku.

Our coaches have talked to some of the people who are already there with the men's team to find out if we need to bring any specific foods or amenities like toilet paper with us from here. We’re ready. We’ll get in one more workout tomorrow morning before we begin our travels again. The best we can hope for is a smooth day of travel, and a bit of rest along the way since it will be early Tuesday morning when we finally get to Baku.

Here, we’ve been able to focus on what we need to do to be ready without worrying about scheduling around other teams’ practice times, or worrying about other teams scouting us during our practices. Being in the middle of the World Championships and among all of our top competitors can be overwhelming. It will be our job to keep our energies concentrated on our training, and to simply do what we’ve got to do without giving everything else too much attention. So far we’ve been successful at bringing our optimal training environment with us. If our attitudes and mindsets shape our circumstances at Worlds, we’ll perform at our best.

Thursday, Sept. 14

We wrestled hard yesterday in both practices, but today we were only on the mat once. Tomorrow we’ll get in a few intra-squad matches. This afternoon the girls who could risk injury on the side of the mountain went rock climbing. The World Team members and a few others went on a marathon hike through the mountains. It was supposed to be just a long hour and a half hike, but the girls I hang with easily turned it into a three-hour tour. We saw some dogs and cats that we all had to pet, a blind snake we had to investigate, some goats we had to feed, and some cows with loud bells. We heard the bells first, and proceeded on a cow hunt. We found them enjoying their peaceful lunch, until we went over to pet and feed and generally harass them.

On one of the first overlooks, an Austrian wrestler with us pointed out the Rhine River in the distance and told us that the mountains on the other side were in Switzerland. We hiked up a steep grassy hill, and our wrestler-guide told us little kids trained on it for skiing. We passed all kinds of beautiful homes on picturesque hillsides. At the highest point of our trail, our wrestler explained that in the winter, we could ride a sled all the way back down into town. I’d guess it would be about a two-mile sled ride! Coming off of a good hard day of wrestling, it was great to get outside for our afternoon workout. It was a way to recharge and to clear my mind before matches tomorrow.

For the most part, we have a pretty compatible group of women and coaches on this trip. That means that we can bring our team environment anywhere we train. We can push each other on the mat, and generally get along with one another off of the mat. This team also has a certain dynamic between the team members. We’ve come to expect certain things from each of our teammates. Today was no different. Toward the end of our hike, we were all getting a little tired, and we came up on a little man-made basin of water and a bench to cool off and relax a bit. The trail is pretty narrow, so we all followed one another in ones and twos. Marcie Van Dusen leaned over the basin of water and stuck her fingers in as Mary Kelly came up on it. Marcie says, “Oh, there are little fish. Mary, come and see!” Mary walked right up to the basin and leaned in to look just in time for Marcie to scoop a handful of water into her face. Classic! The final mountain creature to add to our list turned out to be the mythical and elusive basin-fish.

Wednesday, Sept. 12

So we’ve arrived in Gotzis, Austria where we’ll train for a week. It was a little sobering to realize that we traveled on September 11th, although we started on the 10th. Our long day of traveling amounted to something close to a modern day miracle. No one forgot their passports; no one’s bags were far over weight; none of our flights were delayed, and all of our baggage arrived when we did. I have no tragic tales to tell about our journey to get here.

Early in the day, Kristie Marano did try to give her training partner, Steph Lee, a hard time about carrying around a stuffed bear. Then Coach Terry Steiner reminded Kristie that you don’t have much room to talk about teddy bears if you usually travel with a Spongebob Squarepants pillow. Touche!

Gotzis is a small village with quaint cottages and shops, but there are enough of them all together that you could call the place a city. It’s near the foothills of the Alps, not far from the Swiss border. In short, the city is everything you’d expect from Heidi and The Sound of Music all rolled into one place. There are mountain views, babbling brooks, with ivy and flowers everywhere. Under the street signs between our hotel and the gym are signs with a picture of two wrestlers and the words ‘wrestling room west.’ It’s my kind of place!

Everything in the hotel and the wrestling facility looks like it came straight from an Ikea catalogue. We’ve only had two workouts so far. This morning, we rolled around and drilled enough to shake off the plane and bus rides. This afternoon, we played a game and got some individual work done, and ended with some sauna time. No one feels the best during the first workout after a long trip, but overall I’d say everyone is feeling pretty good. We’ll get down to wrestling hard again by tomorrow.

Now that we’re all here, and in our last push before the World Championships, I want to take this time to acknowledge how much it takes to get us all here. For the last few months, I’ve thought about wrestling non-stop, and every moment of my time was planned around what my wrestling required of me mentally and physically. Now that we’re here with nothing to do in the afternoon, I realize how fortunate we are to do what we’re doing.

We send a full team of women, freestyle guys, and Greco-Roman wrestlers, along with training partners for each person on the team, a trainer, refs, team leaders, a sports psychologist, and a slew of coaches. This means that someone had to work hard to get gear for us all, and someone else had to make all of the travel arrangements for all of these people coming from all over the country. Ever since we determined our World Team, we’ve had several coaches in to work with us. When you’re used to having one or two coaches all year, having several of them intensely focusing only on you, it can be intimidating at first. I began to realize that together, I have all of the tools I need to be successful next week on the World stage.

I had one coach constantly building me up and giving me positive thoughts. One coach gave me all of the technical and strategic information I could use. Another coach pushed me to dominate more, to push myself harder, to find a way to score. And one coach was there when I was tired and helped me ignore my fatigue and to refocus only on what I had to do to score.

Then there are the training partners. It’s tough to be the No. 2 or No. 3 girl in the room. I’ve been there too often myself. You have to deal with the disappointment of being just short of your goal, and also train as intensely as everyone going to Worlds. I want to thank all of the girls from 63 to 72 kilos that helped me in my practices. My training partner, Randi Miller, got to endure me stuffing, pushing, pulling, and snapping her head down about a million times in the last few months. I appreciate the tough job the training partners have, but as they go through the process of the World Championships with us, they are also given an opportunity to get ready for when it’s their shot.

Finally, we each have our own support system that helps keep us sane, and who still love us even when we do get a little crazy. My family and my hometown are my cheering section. They have loved me enough that no matter where I go, I can still feel them with me. Many of my closest friends are either here, or were with me during training. Just recently my support system got a huge boost when my fiancée, Joe Cygan, moved from Lake Placid to Colorado. He helps me stay strong and makes me better.

Monday, Sept. 10
Most of the female World Team members and our training partners live at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. We have one more practice this morning before we take off for our trip to the World Championships. We’ll drive up to Denver, fly over to Minneapolis, then Amsterdam, then Zurich, then drive to a training facility in Austria. We’ll train there for a little less than a week to let our bodies recover from traveling and acclimate to the new time. Then we’ll travel to Baku in time for the first weight classes to get ready for weigh-ins. I weigh-in the last day, so my time in Azerbaijan is about pacing myself.

Our summer has been a busy one. It began at World Team Trials, then the No. 1 women at the Olympics weights competed at Pan-Ams in Brazil, then women at the non-Olympic weight classes had a special wrestle-off to determine the true No. 1s, then finally the entire World Team traveled to compete at the Warsaw Cup. Our World Championship preparations included lots of travel and competition, intense training, lots of sweat, some team bonding, and a little bit of drama. These are all of the things that go into a team of women getting ready to take on the World.

Today will be a really long day once the traveling starts, but this group has done its share of international navigation. I don’t expect that anyone will get too stressed out by the inevitable complications that will arise. We are a group of teammates that believe in one another and are excited for our shot at a World title. Many of us are also good friends, so our trip will surely bring about some incredible wrestling as well as some good laughs.

I already know that Sally Roberts is going to be my roommate when we get overseas. We’ve roomed together before, so I know that although we probably won’t have any TV stations in English, I will still get the Sally Channel 24-7. She is, at any moment, liable to break out in song and/or dance. She is also capable of wandering off into her own little world for a while as she makes her belly button also sing and/or dance. Anyone who knows Sally has surely seen a Sally show before.

Thanks to my coaches and teammates, I am well-prepared, so I am ready to get down to business at Worlds. I also love many of my teammates, so I also look forward to sharing this experience with them.
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25 city wrestlers for Junior Nationals

Chandigarh, Sep 16 :

The Chandigarh Wrestling Association will field a 24-member squad in the 26th Junior Boys (freestyle and Greco-Roman) and Girls (freestyle) National Wrestling Championship to be held in Srinagar from September 21 to 23.

The team was selected during the selection trials conducted here today.

Association secretary Darshan Lal Sharma said that more than 100 boys and girls attended the trials. Competitions at Srinagar will be held in the weight categories of 50, 55, 60, 66, 74, 84, 96 and 120 kg (for boys) and 44, 48, 51, 55, 59, 63, 67 and 72 kg (for girls).

All competitors must be of junior age level between 18 and 20 years or born between 1987 and 1989. Cadet wrestlers who will be 17 years old must present a medical certificate justifying the reason for wrestling in a higher age group and parental authorisation.

The Chandigarh team: Boys: Freestyle: Sandeep (50 kg), Deepak (55 kg), Manoj (60 kg), Parveen (66 kg), Parveen (74 kg), Monupal (84 kg), Rajinder (96 kg), Jagmit (+96 kg).

Greco-Roman: Sandeep (50 kg), Sunil (55 kg), Surjit (60 kg), Pardeep (66 kg), Sunil (74 kg), Paramjinderjit (84 kg), Prem (96 kg), Anil (+96 kg), Girls (freestyle): Harvinder/Aman (44 kg), Sumesh (48 kg), Sarla (51 kg), Promila (55 kg), Mandeep (59 kg), Manjit (63 kg) and Smita (+67 kg).

Coaches, including one lady, and manager will also accompany the team.
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