2010 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS U.S. women take 5th
U.S. Greco-Roman and freestyle teams fall short of winning a medal in Moscow
By Craig Sesker MOSCOW, Russia – The 2010 World Championships were highlighted by the performance of three U.S. women on the fourth day of the tournament. Elena Pirozhkova earned a silver
medal, Tatiana Padilla captured a bronze medal and Kelsey Campbell placed fifth for the U.S. on Sept. 9 at the Olympiysky Sports Complex. Pirozhkova came out aggressively in
the finals and scored the first point against Japanese legend Kaori Icho in the gold-medal match at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. But Icho came back to win the period and take the second period to win her sixth World title. Icho, 26, also a two-time Olympic champion, returned to competi- tion this year after taking last season off. “It felt really good to be in the finals,” Pirozhkova said. “Right after I beat the Russian in the semis, I felt good because I knew I had a medal. But you definitely want that gold. I should have gotten after it a little bit more. There was a little hesi- tation on my part.” The Russian-born Pirozhkova, 23, beat two-time World silver medalist Lubov Volosova of Russia 1-0, 1-0 in the semifi- nals on Thursday afternoon. Pirozhkova and Padilla were the only
U.S. wrestlers to medal in the 2010 World Championships. The U.S. women’s team did not win a medal at this event in 2009. Pirozhkova won the first period in the semifinals 1-0 by defending the leg clinch. The second period was 0-0 after two minutes. Russia challenged a call late in the match after Volosova shot in on a leg attack, but the call was upheld and Russia lost a point for an unsuccess- ful challenge. That gave Pirozhkova the period and the match. Pirozhkova fell short of medaling in
trips to the Worlds in 2008 and 2009. She is a past World University champion. Padilla won her second World bronze medal in the last three years. The 19-
8 USA Wrestler
Tatiana Padilla won her 2nd World bronze medal in Russia. Larry Slater photo.
“We have made a lot of progress. We have to continue progressing, getting better and doing the right things. We have a lot of room for improvement. It is a step in the right direction.” - Terry Steiner, U.S. National Women’s Coach
year-old also was a World bronze medal- ist in 2008. She was fifth in this event last year.
Padilla won this bronze medal by recording a second period fall over Russia’s Maria Gurova. Padilla won the first period 1-1 after scoring last. She built a 2-0 lead in the second period before cradling and pinning Gurova with 16 sec- onds left in the period. “I feel like every wrestler has a break-
ing point,” Padilla said. “I felt her tie-ups and her positions weren’t as strong in the second period. As soon as I went behind her, I felt her give up. I said, ‘This girl is going to break. I’m going to take the bronze. I’m going to get it done and put her away.’” Padilla ran into one of the best women’s wrestlers of all-time in Saori Yoshida of Japan in the quarterfinals at 55 kg/121 lbs. Yoshida rolled to a 3-0, 6-0 win over Padilla. Padilla rebounded to beat Korea’s Ji- Eun Kim in the repechage to reach the
bronze-medal match. Campbell, 25, lost by fall to Sweden’s Johanna Mattsson in the bronze-medal match at 59 kg/130 lbs. Campbell earns a top-five finish in her first World Championships. The U.S. has been fifth in this weight class the past three years. Deanna Rix was fifth at 59 kilos in 2008 and 2009. Campbell reached the semifinals
before being pinned by Lan Zhang of China in the second period. Zhang, 19, is a Junior World champion. Campbell won her first three matches. The U.S. women placed fifth. “We have made a lot of progress,” said National Women’s Coach Terry Steiner. “We have to continue progressing, getting better and doing the right things. We have a lot of room for improvement. It is a step in the right direction. Next year, we will focus more on results, where we are in the team standings and in the individ- ual standings. We need to get back and
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