| American Elena Pirozhkova rolls into finals of Women's World Championships |
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 By Craig Sesker USA Wrestling
09/29/2012
SHERWOOD PARK, Canada – American Elena Pirozhkova has been here before.
And this time she is looking to finish the job.
Pirozhkova swept China’s Luozhuoma Xi 1-0, 4-0 in the semifinals of the FILA Women’s World Championships on Saturday afternoon at Millennium Place.
Pirozhkova now advances to battle Bulgaria’s Taybe Yusein in the gold-medal match at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. The medal matches are set for 5 p.m. Mountain Time on Saturday. Pirozhkova will wrestle the sixth and final match of the session.
Pirozhkova (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC) captured a World silver medal in 2010. Yusein won a Junior World title in 2011.
Pirozhkova, 25, came back strong in this event after she dropped her first match at the 2012 Olympics.
2008 World champion Clarissa Chun (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) fell one win short of the medal round at 48 kg/105.5 lbs.
Kazakhstan’s Tatyana Amanzhol-Bakatyuk rallied to beat Chun 2-3, 1-1, 3-1 in the repechage wrestlebacks. Chun led 1-0 late in the second period before her opponent rallied to win the period.
Chun dropped her first bout at 48 kg/105.5 lbs. Vanessa Kaladzynskaya of Belarus shot in for a double-leg takedown with 10 seconds left in the third period to pull out a 5-4, 1-6, 4-3 win over Chun.
Chun received a chance to wrestle back when Kaladzynskaya advanced to the finals. Kaladzynskaya, 19, placed eighth in the 2012 Olympics.
Chun won an Olympic bronze medal last month in London.
The U.S. will finish with four medals in this tournament, the most in a World Championships since the Americans won four medals at the 2005 Worlds.
Adeline Gray won a World gold medal on Thursday night and Helen Maroulis captured a silver medal on Friday night. Alyssa Lampe won a World bronze medal on Thursday.
FILA WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sherwood Park, Canada
Finals matchups
48 kg/105.5 lbs.
Vanessa Kaladzynskaya (Belarus) vs. Eri Tosaka (Japan)
63 kg/138.75 lbs.
Elena Pirozhkova (USA) vs. Taybe Yusein (Bulgaria)
U.S. performances
48 kg/105.5 lbs. – Clarissa Chun, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
LOSS Vanessa Kaladzynskaya (Belarus), 4-5, 6-1, 3-4
LOSS Tatyana Amanzhol-Bakatyuk (Kazakhstan), 3-2, 1-1, 1-3
63 kg/138.75 lbs. – Elena Pirozhkova, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Gator WC)
WIN Min-Wen Hou (Chinese Taipei), fall 0:33
WIN Kayoko Kudo (Japan), 2-0, fall 0:50
WIN Luozhuoma Xi (China), 1-0, 4-0
vs. Taybe Yusein (Bulgaria) in gold-medal match
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