UPDATED: Marcie Van Dusen delivers to qualify U.S. for Olympic Games in women's freestyle
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by Craig Sesker
EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada - American Marcie Van Dusen delivered four clutch wins early Saturday to qualify the United States for the Olympic Games in women's freestyle wrestling at 55 kg/121 lbs.
Van Dusen pinned Romania's Ana Maria Paval 3-3, 1:05 in the semifinals to advance to the finals of Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament No. 1 on Saturday in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
"I felt good going in. I was aggressive in every match," said Van Dusen. "I had a job to do and got it done."
By finishing in the top two, Van Dusen (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) qualifies the U.S. for the Olympics at 55 kilos. The Olympics for wrestling will be held Aug. 12-21 in Beijing, China.
"She was the best person in her weight class," said National Women's Coach Terry Steiner. "She had to wrestle with emotion. She took care of business. There was no playing around. She scored early in each match. She was deliberate. She had very good execution. It was a good day for USA Wrestling."
Van Dusen, a 2007 World Team member, opened with a 5-0, 2-0 win over past World University champion Sylwia Bilenska of Poland. She followed by downing India's Alka Tomar 8-1, 3-2 in the second round. She beat Chinese Taipei's Ying-tzu Su 7-0, 7-0 in the quarterfinals.
She advanced to the finals, where she was paired against Venezuela's Marcia Andrade. Steiner indicated that Van Dusen would not compete in the championship match.
The U.S. has now qualified for Beijing in all four weight classes for women that will be contested in the Olympics. Women's wrestling made its Olympic debut in 2004 in Athens, Greece.
"I think it was good to have a little pressure on me," said Van Dusen. "There will be more of that to come. I feel I am getting better every tournament. Everything is falling into place for me."
Van Dusen, who placed 10th at the 2007 World Championships, narrowly missed qualifying the U.S. for the Olympics after placing second to Olympic silver medalist Tonya Verbeek of Canada at the 2008 Pan American Championships. Verbeek qualified Canada for the Olympics by virtue of winning that event.
Van Dusen won the U.S. Nationals last month in Las Vegas. That earned her a spot in the best-of-3 finals for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, set for June 13-15 in Las Vegas. She now needs to win the Olympic Trials to earn herself a trip to Beijing.
The qualifier on Saturday was the first of two Olympic qualifiers for women's freestyle.
The U.S. has now qualified 16-of-18 weight classes overall for the Olympics. The U.S. has qualified 6-of-7 classes in Greco-Roman, 6-of-7 classes in freestyle and 4-of-4 classes in women's freestyle. One qualifier remains in Greco-Roman, next weekend in Serbia.
Van Dusen pinned Romania's Ana Maria Paval 3-3, 1:05 in the semifinals to advance to the finals of Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament No. 1 on Saturday in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
"I felt good going in. I was aggressive in every match," said Van Dusen. "I had a job to do and got it done."
By finishing in the top two, Van Dusen (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) qualifies the U.S. for the Olympics at 55 kilos. The Olympics for wrestling will be held Aug. 12-21 in Beijing, China.
"She was the best person in her weight class," said National Women's Coach Terry Steiner. "She had to wrestle with emotion. She took care of business. There was no playing around. She scored early in each match. She was deliberate. She had very good execution. It was a good day for USA Wrestling."
Van Dusen, a 2007 World Team member, opened with a 5-0, 2-0 win over past World University champion Sylwia Bilenska of Poland. She followed by downing India's Alka Tomar 8-1, 3-2 in the second round. She beat Chinese Taipei's Ying-tzu Su 7-0, 7-0 in the quarterfinals.
She advanced to the finals, where she was paired against Venezuela's Marcia Andrade. Steiner indicated that Van Dusen would not compete in the championship match.
The U.S. has now qualified for Beijing in all four weight classes for women that will be contested in the Olympics. Women's wrestling made its Olympic debut in 2004 in Athens, Greece.
"I think it was good to have a little pressure on me," said Van Dusen. "There will be more of that to come. I feel I am getting better every tournament. Everything is falling into place for me."
Van Dusen, who placed 10th at the 2007 World Championships, narrowly missed qualifying the U.S. for the Olympics after placing second to Olympic silver medalist Tonya Verbeek of Canada at the 2008 Pan American Championships. Verbeek qualified Canada for the Olympics by virtue of winning that event.
Van Dusen won the U.S. Nationals last month in Las Vegas. That earned her a spot in the best-of-3 finals for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, set for June 13-15 in Las Vegas. She now needs to win the Olympic Trials to earn herself a trip to Beijing.
The qualifier on Saturday was the first of two Olympic qualifiers for women's freestyle.
The U.S. has now qualified 16-of-18 weight classes overall for the Olympics. The U.S. has qualified 6-of-7 classes in Greco-Roman, 6-of-7 classes in freestyle and 4-of-4 classes in women's freestyle. One qualifier remains in Greco-Roman, next weekend in Serbia.
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