Dramatic win sends Clarissa Chun into gold-medal match at Women's World Championships
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by Craig Sesker
TOKYO, Japan - Clarissa Chun was supposed to have won a World-level medal by now.
A talented, explosive wrestler with an extensive judo background, Chun looked to have a very bright future after competing at the 2000 World Championships as a 19-year-old.
But it took eight years for Chun to arrive back on this stage and she's not wasting this opportunity. Less than two months after placing fifth in the 2008 Olympic Games, Chun stands just one win from becoming just the fifth women's freestyle World champion from the United States.
Chun shot in on a single-leg attack with 11 seconds left in the match and finished with a takedown to earn a dramatic 0-1, 3-0, 1-1 semifinal victory over Japan's Makiko Sakamoto at the Women's World Championships. Chun now advances to face Kazhakstan's Jyldyz Eshimova-Turtbayeva in Sunday night's finals at 48 kg/105.5 lbs.
The 20-year-old Eshimova-Turtbayeva placed second in the 2008 Junior World Championships.
"Now I have to go out there and win that gold medal," Chun said. "It's within my grasp now and I just need to go out there and get it. I want to put that belt around my waist and put that medal around my neck."
American Alaina Berube also stayed in the hunt for a medal. Berube lost to Russia's Lubov Volosova in the quarterfinals at 63 kg/138.75, but receives a chance to wrestle back after Volosova reached the finals. Berube can still place as high as third. She will meet Hanna Beliayeva of Belarus in the repechage round late Sunday afternoon.
Chun, from Honolulu, Hawaii, placed fourth at the 2007 U.S. World Team Trials before coming back with a vengeance this year. She has thrived under the training of her personal coach, Keith Wilson, in Colorado Springs. Wilson is back in her corner in this tournament.
"I would really like to give Keith Wilson a lot of credit for working with Clarissa," U.S. Coach Terry Steiner said. "He's worked very closely with her on a daily basis and really got her to believe in herself."
For the 27-year-old Chun, the semifinal win provided a sense of redemption after she suffered a heartbreaking loss in the Olympic semifinals to Japan's Chiharu Icho. Chun had the lead late in that match with Icho before falling at the Olympic Games on Aug. 16 in Beijing, China.
Sakamoto, younger sister of six-time World champion Hitomi Sakamoto, won a bronze medal at the World Championships in 2005. She also was fifth in the World in 2003, but has been stuck behind two-time World champion Chiharu Icho on the powerful Japanese team.
"Any draw here was a better draw than the Olympics," Chun said. "(Sakamoto) is a tough wrestler, but I wanted to wrestle the best in my weight. It was a challenge and I was ready for it. The Olympics gave me confidence that I'm good enough to win a medal at this level. I just thought, 'Why not now?' I needed to take advantage of this opportunity."
Steiner scouted the match where Eshimova-Turtbayeva earned a spot in the finals against Chun with a win over China's Guibei Su.
"She's a very defensive wrestler," Steiner said. "We just have to get our offense going and keep her off-balance. Chun needs to open it up and can't hold back out there."
Steiner credited Chun for continuing to battle despite not making a World-level team for eight years.
"You have to credit her perseverance," Steiner said. "She's always had the talent. It was just a matter of believing and putting it all together. She's really coming into our own right now. Clarissa can be force for a long time in this sport if she chooses to."
The U.S. came up short of winning a medal in the first three weight classes on Saturday.
Day 3 of the three-day tournament is set for Monday with competition at 55 kg/121 lbs. and 72 kg/158.5 lbs. The U.S. will send Tatiana Padilla (Azusa, Calif./Sunkist Kids) to the mat at 55 kilos with Stephany Lee (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) set to compete at 72 kilos.
WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
U.S. results - Sunday, Oct. 12, Tokyo, Japan
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Clarissa Chun, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
WIN Kaya Demet (Turkey), by fall
WIN Pei-Ching Tsai (Taipei), by fall
WIN Makiko Sakamoto (Japan), 0-1, 3-0, 1-1
Finals: vs. Jyldyz Eshimova-Turtbayeva (Kazakhstan)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Alaina Berube, River Falls, Wis. (New York AC)
WIN Simona Corbani (Italy), 1-0, 7-0
LOSS Lubov Volosova (Russia), 3-0, 2-0
A talented, explosive wrestler with an extensive judo background, Chun looked to have a very bright future after competing at the 2000 World Championships as a 19-year-old.
But it took eight years for Chun to arrive back on this stage and she's not wasting this opportunity. Less than two months after placing fifth in the 2008 Olympic Games, Chun stands just one win from becoming just the fifth women's freestyle World champion from the United States.
Chun shot in on a single-leg attack with 11 seconds left in the match and finished with a takedown to earn a dramatic 0-1, 3-0, 1-1 semifinal victory over Japan's Makiko Sakamoto at the Women's World Championships. Chun now advances to face Kazhakstan's Jyldyz Eshimova-Turtbayeva in Sunday night's finals at 48 kg/105.5 lbs.
The 20-year-old Eshimova-Turtbayeva placed second in the 2008 Junior World Championships.
"Now I have to go out there and win that gold medal," Chun said. "It's within my grasp now and I just need to go out there and get it. I want to put that belt around my waist and put that medal around my neck."
American Alaina Berube also stayed in the hunt for a medal. Berube lost to Russia's Lubov Volosova in the quarterfinals at 63 kg/138.75, but receives a chance to wrestle back after Volosova reached the finals. Berube can still place as high as third. She will meet Hanna Beliayeva of Belarus in the repechage round late Sunday afternoon.
Chun, from Honolulu, Hawaii, placed fourth at the 2007 U.S. World Team Trials before coming back with a vengeance this year. She has thrived under the training of her personal coach, Keith Wilson, in Colorado Springs. Wilson is back in her corner in this tournament.
"I would really like to give Keith Wilson a lot of credit for working with Clarissa," U.S. Coach Terry Steiner said. "He's worked very closely with her on a daily basis and really got her to believe in herself."
For the 27-year-old Chun, the semifinal win provided a sense of redemption after she suffered a heartbreaking loss in the Olympic semifinals to Japan's Chiharu Icho. Chun had the lead late in that match with Icho before falling at the Olympic Games on Aug. 16 in Beijing, China.
Sakamoto, younger sister of six-time World champion Hitomi Sakamoto, won a bronze medal at the World Championships in 2005. She also was fifth in the World in 2003, but has been stuck behind two-time World champion Chiharu Icho on the powerful Japanese team.
"Any draw here was a better draw than the Olympics," Chun said. "(Sakamoto) is a tough wrestler, but I wanted to wrestle the best in my weight. It was a challenge and I was ready for it. The Olympics gave me confidence that I'm good enough to win a medal at this level. I just thought, 'Why not now?' I needed to take advantage of this opportunity."
Steiner scouted the match where Eshimova-Turtbayeva earned a spot in the finals against Chun with a win over China's Guibei Su.
"She's a very defensive wrestler," Steiner said. "We just have to get our offense going and keep her off-balance. Chun needs to open it up and can't hold back out there."
Steiner credited Chun for continuing to battle despite not making a World-level team for eight years.
"You have to credit her perseverance," Steiner said. "She's always had the talent. It was just a matter of believing and putting it all together. She's really coming into our own right now. Clarissa can be force for a long time in this sport if she chooses to."
The U.S. came up short of winning a medal in the first three weight classes on Saturday.
Day 3 of the three-day tournament is set for Monday with competition at 55 kg/121 lbs. and 72 kg/158.5 lbs. The U.S. will send Tatiana Padilla (Azusa, Calif./Sunkist Kids) to the mat at 55 kilos with Stephany Lee (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) set to compete at 72 kilos.
WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
U.S. results - Sunday, Oct. 12, Tokyo, Japan
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Clarissa Chun, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
WIN Kaya Demet (Turkey), by fall
WIN Pei-Ching Tsai (Taipei), by fall
WIN Makiko Sakamoto (Japan), 0-1, 3-0, 1-1
Finals: vs. Jyldyz Eshimova-Turtbayeva (Kazakhstan)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Alaina Berube, River Falls, Wis. (New York AC)
WIN Simona Corbani (Italy), 1-0, 7-0
LOSS Lubov Volosova (Russia), 3-0, 2-0
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