7. Road To Rio

2016 is a big year for women’s wrestling. The Olympic program has been expanded from four weight classes to six. This balances them out with the men’s Freestyle and Greco categories. This change shook up the landscape drastically when competitors chose weights to compete at last year’s championships. Yoshida and Icho (JPN) both dropped a weight class into the new Olympic Weights of 53kg and 58kg. They’ll stay put in their new weight classes as they compete at the 2015 championships, and try to qualify their country’s position for Rio. The top six finishers at each of the Olympic weights will lock in a spot for their country at the 2016 Olympic Games.

 

Women’s Freestyle Olympic Weights: 48kg; 53kg; 58kg; 63kg; 69kg; 75kg

 

6. Japan’s Dynamic Duo

Saori Yoshida (53kg) and Kaori Icho (58kg) have 21 World Gold Medals between them. You read that correctly, TWENTY-ONE. Check out the list of competitors that want to put their name in the history books by denying Yoshida or Icho a World title for the first time when they have entered the tournament.

 

53kg:

Sofia Mattsson (SWE) – World Silver (‘14,’13,’11)

Xuechun Zhang (CHN) – Junior World Silver (’12), Asian Champion (‘15,’14)

Otgontsetseg Davaasukh (MGL) – World Silver (’11)

Zhuldyz Eshimova (KAZ) – World Silver (’08), Bronze (’11)

Myong Suk Jong (PRK) – World Bronze (’14)

Maria Prevolaraki (GRE) – World Bronze (’12)

Natalia Malysheva (RUS) – Junior World Gold (’14)

Mercedesz Denes (HUN) – Junior World Bronze (’12)

 

58kg:

Marianna Sastin (HUN) – World Gold (’13), Silver (’05, ’11)

Yuliya Ratkevich (AZE) – World Gold (’09), Silver (’10, ’14), Bronze (’13)

Natalia Golts (RUS) – World Silver (’08), five-time Bronze

Anastasiya Huchok (BLR) – World Bronze (’14), Junior World Gold (’12)

Jale Yesilirmak (TUR) – World Bronze (’14)

Geeta Poghat (IND) – World Bronze (’12)

Johanna Mattsson (SWE) – World Bronze (’10)

Luisa Helga Gerda Niemesch (GER) – Junior World Silver (’14)

Petra Maarit Olli (FIN) – Junior World Bronze (’12, ’13, ’14)

Aisuluu Tynybekova (KGZ) – Junior World Bronze (’13)

 

 

5.  Pirozhkova At 69kg

Elena Pirozhkova has taken home every color of medal the World Championships awards. She even doubled up on silver throughout her career. These were all at 63kg. She makes the move up to 69kg to prepare for a run at the Olympics in 2016. This weight has some serious firepower when you look at the credentials of the wrestlers competing. Pirozhkova is one of four women to own a World or Olympic title. She is currently ranked sixth at her new weight class of 69kg, just one spot behind the 2014 Champion, Aline Focken (GER). Natalia Vorobieva (RUS) was an Olympic Gold Medalist in 2012 and sits atop the rankings. Alina Makhinya (UKR), won in 2013 and is currently ranked third by UWW, rounds out the World/Olympic Champions. Can Pirozhkova find success at her new weight class?

 

 

4. Maroulis Hunting For Gold

Helen Maroulis has a World bronze and silver on her resume at 55kg. 55kg has almost exclusively been the weight class she has competed at since being on the Senior level full-time. But when the Olympic weight classes for 2016 were announced, she found herself homeless, in a sense. 55kg was gone from the program. Maroulis ultimately has Olympic gold aspirations, so she began to prepare for 2016 by moving to 58kg for the US Open. She won the Open, but vacated the spot in the best-of-three championship series in Madison to return to 55kg. Working with a nutritionist they decided 53kg could be made in a healthy way, and she will attempt to make the Olympic team in that weight category. This made the return to 55kg for the 2015 World Championships an easy decision. Maroulis is currently ranked No. 1 by UWW at 55kg. Will she get her gold and carry momentum into the Olympic year?

 

3. Will Icho Reign Supreme Once Again?

Kaori Icho should be the headliner with nine World and three Olympic Gold medals, but credential wise, she has to play second fiddle to Saori Yoshida. Icho has won every World and Olympic competition she has entered. She also won her first title alongside Yoshida in 2002. Their credentials differ because Icho did not wrestle in the ‘08,’09 or ’12 World Championships. Icho and Yoshida are competing against fields that have plenty of credentialed athletes. Many feel Sastin of Hungary would be the one to dethrone the queen, if it were to happen. She had to defeat Barka, the Euro Champion, just to make the team. Will Icho continue her reign of dominance?

 

 

2. (Un)Lucky Number 13 For Yoshida

Remember when Lebron James said “not one, not two, not three…”? Well, you get the picture. Anyway, he didn’t deliver in Miami. But Saori Yoshida (JPN) could have kept counting and still held up her end of the bargain. She has won 12 World Championships and three Olympic titles. She is truly a legend of the sport.

The theme of these championships is moving and preparing to wrestle at an Olympic weight. Yoshida made her move to 53kg last year, but did bounce back to 55kg for the Asian Games after the World Championships. This is her first step toward that unprecedented fourth Olympic Gold Medal. Although qualifying the weight class for Japan is a foregone conclusion, this will mark the beginning of that journey. We talked about contenders in an earlier story; will number 13 be unlucky in Las Vegas?

 

1. Gray On Verge Of U.S. History

Adeline Gray is one of the most decorated female wrestlers in United States history. Only her along with Kristie Marano and Tricia Saunders have won more than one World title. Gray and Marano check in with two titles, while Saunders won five between 1992 and 1999. Add in the two bronze medals that Gray has earned, and you have a very impressive resume. With a title here in Las Vegas, she could be on her way to catching Saunders as the most decorated female wrestler in United States history.

 

The world medals are quite an accomplishment, but the United States still hasn’t struck gold at any of Olympic Games. That stat shouldn’t surprise anyone when you just heard about Yoshida and Icho’s dominance. They have won six of the 12 gold medals handed out in Women’s Freestyle. Gray has her eye on that prize, and back-to-back titles going into the Olympic year would be great momentum. Can Gray match Saunders feat of back-to-back titles?