Members of the U.S. women's freestyle team pose (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Few countries stand to gain more traction with these changes than the American squad who has yet to bring home an Olympic gold. Leading the American hopes will be Adeline Gray, the top-ranked wrestler at 75 kilos and the athlete most likely poised for a two-year run to Rio.
Despite the rosy outlook up top, no American woman made the finals in 2013, with the stars and stripes only earning three bronze across seven weight classes.
Here is the look at the rest of the women's freestylers who have qualified in an Olympic weight category at the World Team Trials and will be competing at the 2014 FILA World Championships this September in Tashkent.
48 kilos: Alyssa Lampe
Gold: 20 percent
Medal: 60 percent
Ranked No. 4 in the world this June, Alyssa Lampe is one of America's most consistent international performers. At home she's faced nemesis Victoria Anthony repeatedly, a matchup that has helped to hone her skills and ready her for international competition. Lampe is technically sound and can be, when needed, physically brutal.
Alyssa Lampe (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Lampe is a two-time World bronze medalist and only improving. She will need to wrestle her best tournament to make the finals and put together a match against Tosaka, Yunan or Maria Stadnyck, the Azerbaijani wrestler who last week pinned 2012 World champion Jessica MacDonald of Canada.
Top wrestlers: Eri Tosaka (Japan), Mariya Stadnyk (Azerbaijan), Yanan Sun (China), Jessica MacDonald (Canada)
53 kilos: Whitney Conder
Gold: 0 percent
Medal: 20 percent
It's unreasonable to think that anyone in the 53-kilo field will beat three-time Olympic champion and 11-time World champion Saori Yoshida, who has moved down from 55 kilos. If there is a wrestler who can take out the Japanese legend it will be Sofia Mattsson of Sweden, a World champion herself who also moved down to challenge Yoshida.
Whitney Conder is a Junior World champion from 2007, but it's difficult to project how she will do in such a stacked weight class. Should Conder find a gap in her side of the bracket, she's capable of making the semifinals, from there she could make a run at a medal. She will need to have her best imaginable tournament.
Top wrestlers: Saori Yoshida (Japan), Maria Gurova (Russia), Sofia Mattsson (Sweden), Zhong Xuechun (China)
58 kilos: Alli Ragan
Gold: 0 percent
Medal: 30 percent
Alli Ragan (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)For Ragan, the draw -- as it is for most wrestlers -- will determine much of what she can accomplish. Despite the naysaying, Ragan has shown promise in big tournaments, making it to the finals of the World University Games last year and toughing out a packed World Team Trials at home.
Top wrestlers: Kaori Icho (Japan), Valeria Koblova-Zholobova (Russia), Petra Olli (Finland), Marianna Sastin (Hungary)
63 kilos: Elena Pirozhkova
Gold: 40 percent
Medal: 80 percent
America's second-best chance for a title comes with former World champion Elena Pirozhkova. She's inarguably among the best in the world, and unlike lower weights hers isn't blockaded at the top by unbeatable Japanese talent since Icho dropped down to 60 kilos.
Pirozhkova second World title might ultimately come down to her ability to make it past Latvia's Anastasija Grigorjeva, who has looked phenomenal since falling at last year's World Championships. Grigorjeva is a good matchup for Pirozhkova so a meeting between the two could be beneficial to her gold medal chances, though also lurking in the field is last year's runner-up Soronzonbold Battsetseg of Mongolia, who pinned the American at last year's World Championships and an always-ready Xiluo Zhuoma of China.
Top wrestlers: Anastasija Grigorjeva (Latvia), Jackeline Rentaria Castillo (Columbia), Xiluo Zhuoma (China), Yurika Ito (Japan), Soronzonbold Battsetseg (Mongolia)
69 kilos: Veronica Carlson or Randi Miller
Gold: 0 percent
Medal: 20 percent
Veronica Carlson won the World Team Trials, but 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Randi Miller was injured for the tournament and requested a special wrestle-off, which was granted by USA Wrestling.
Either way, the outlook remains similar for both athletes. Carlson lost to a decent Zhou Zhangting of China at the 2013 World Championships and Randi Miller is on the backend of her record-setting career. The new class of women at 69 kilos is one of the most top-heavy in the World Championships, led by 2012 Olympic champion Natalia Vorobieva of Russia who, were it not for a miracle headlock in last year's World Championships, would be running a 50-match winning streak.
Also at the weight class is defending World champion Alina Makhinya (formerly Stadnyk) and the very impressive Sara Dosho of Japan.
Top wrestlers: Natalia Vorobieva (Russia), Alina Makhinya (Ukraine), Sara Dosho (Japan), Aline Focken (Germany)
75 kilos: Adeline Gray
Gold: 80 percent
Medal: 95 percent
Adeline Gray (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Gray should be optimistic about her chances since her rival, 2013 World champion Zhang Fengliu of China, is now between weight classes and battling an injury. Should Zhang bump up to 75 kilos that could mean trouble for Gray, but the extra weight may not agree with the Chinese wrestler. That is a question mark that Gray will have to address once she's in Tashkent.
Top wrestlers: Erica Wiebe (Canada), Vasilisa Marzaliuk (Belarus), Ekaterina Bukina (Russia), Gouzel Manyurova (Kazakhstan)
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now