CHASING HISTORY from page 5
history, three-time Olympic champion and 13-time World champion Saori Yoshida of Japan on top of several other heavy hitters like 2009 World champion and five-time World medalist Sofia Mattson of Sweden. “I’ve been saying I want to go to the Olympics since eight years old. I’ve always dreamed of winning a gold medal. It was never about being the first, it was just get- ting that gold medal because that’s what I believe I am capable of. I think we’ve got four gold medal potentials and I’m really excited for that,” said Maroulis. Slightly different than Maroulis, Gray is
a heavy favorite to bring home a gold medal at the Olympic Games for the U.S. She has won three World titles (2012, 2014, 2015) and five total World medals in the past five years. Since moving up to 75 kg in 2013,
Gray has constantly grown as a wrestler with her separation from the pack expanding seemingly every time she steps on the mat. Not to mention she has one of the meanest leg laces in the game today. Her motivation to win a gold medal in
Rio expands beyond personal interest and focuses on longtime head coach of the U.S. women’s freestyle team, Terry
Steiner. “The reason why I want a gold medal is because Terry deserves it,” Gray said. “Terry is such a great coach and built this program from essentially nothing. Our program is great. We medal consistently on the Olympic stage and on the World stage, but to not have the number one spot of Olympic gold is kind of sad. He deserves that and we are a team that can bring home some gold medals from the Olympics and that’s going to happen this summer.” The only woman on this year’s Olympic
Team who has been to the big show before is Pirozhkova, who made the team in 2012, oddly enough, by defeating Gray in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials finals at 63 kg. The vastly experienced Priozhkova
owns four World medals including a World gold from 2012. However, her last trip to the Olympic Games was not as for- tuitous as she would have liked. She plans to use that experience as fuel and make the most of her second chance. “You know it’s going to be exciting. You
know you’re going to get nervous. It’s one thing knowing what you’re preparing for and another thing to experience it,” said Pirozhkova. “A gold medal for women’s wrestling is
going to be a huge, huge thing,” she con- tinued. “If we get that gold medal for women’s wrestling it’s just going to give us so much publicity. Some people still don’t know women’s wrestling exists, let alone at the Olympics, so I think getting a gold medal is just going to put it in the news even more.” The Olympic Team youngster, Augello, dropped from 53 kg to 48 kg for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials and has reaped the benefits. She took out a Trials bracket that featured an Olympic bronze medalist, a two-time World bronze medalist and a two- time Junior World champion. She herself won a Cadet World gold in 2011 and made two Junior World Teams. “It’s really awesome to be a part of something so big. It gives me something to look forward to, and every day I get more excited for it. It makes it fun because you are looking forward to that big moment and you have all the tools you need to get ready for it,” said Augello. Augello plans to lean on the expertise of
her more experienced teammates and soak in all she can before taking the mat in Rio. “I think it’s a good thing to have them to
Elena Pirozhkova wants her arm raised during the 2016 Olympic Games finals. Tony Rotundo photo.
6 USA Wrestler
look up to, to see what they do,” Augello stated. “I have to do my own thing at the end of the day, but it’s good to have an example of the guidelines of what I should be doing. They are really great
Adeline Gray is pursuing her Olympic dream. Tony Rotundo photo.
with giving me advice and prepping me for what to prepare for at the Olympics wrestling-wise and just like the Olympic village and everything that’s going on when you actually get there.” As for the question of who will snag the
first Olympic gold medal in U.S. women’s wrestling history, Augello will have first crack. She is the only U.S. woman to compete on the first day of wrestling at the Olympics. “They are just throwing that opportunity
at me, so I hope I can grasp it. That’s my goal. I want to be the first gold medalist and I want my teammates to go out there and win gold medals the next day. It would mean a lot to me to do that for America,” said Augello. To be fair, any or all four of the U.S.
women have the capability to reach the top of the Olympic podium. This consen- sus has been echoed by all four Olympians. “It’s sad that we didn’t qualify two
weight classes, but the four that we have, it could be four golds. Wouldn’t it be exciting if the first gold medal was techni- cally four gold medals? That would be quite an Olympics,” said Pirozhkova. Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest growing female sports in the U.S. and an Olympic gold medal would be quite the asset to expedite its growth. “Women’s wrestling really is growing
and we are making the right steps, but, if we really want to jump it forward fast, gold medals at the Olympics are crucial. That’s what we need to do to grow the sport and get women’s wrestling some recognition in America,” said Augello. The U.S. is sending an extremely tal-
ented and game women’s freestyle squad to Rio. All that remains is history.
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