FEATURE: Stephany Lee is ready for breakthrough season
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by Megan Myers
Stephany Lee gets very excited when she steps on the mat to wrestle. So much that it cost her at the 2008 World Championships but she is taking that experience to become one of the top wrestlers at the 72 kg/158.5 lbs.
Lee was pinned by past World champion Kyoko Hamaguchi of Japan in the first round at the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan.
"It was my first time being on a World Team," Lee said. "It was exciting to me and that's why I was so excited in my first match. I wanted to prove something, but I overlooked it."
Learning from that experience, Lee is more focused when she wrestles and tries to be more patient when she competes.
"I just take one match at a time and not worry about what's going to happen next," she said. "I wrestle in the moment and try not to be everywhere at once. I am building myself to become stronger mentally."
In the years Lee has been wrestling, she has been successful. She is a two-time World University champion and a two-time Pan American champion.
When she wrestles, she uses her judo background to help her throw people around.
"It's a lot about knowing where my body is majority of the time," Lee said. "I don't have to see it, I can feel it. My body awareness is so much better than people who just wrestle."
She began training in judo when she was seven years old and started wrestling when she was a sophomore in high school in Hawaii. Since there were more opportunities for her in wrestling, Lee stuck with the sport.
"My first inspiration was to go to the Olympics in judo because the person I looked up to was training in judo. I grew up with her," she said. "I think having people who are older than you when you go through sports that do things like that, it makes you want to push yourself to do the same thing. I may not be doing judo, but I am still trying to make it in another sport."
Lee is on her way to become a World and Olympic champion, something she has wanted for a long time.
"For me, to get into the Olympics and medal would be awesome," Lee said. "I am going to try to win some World Championships before the Olympics."
In order for Lee to make it that far, she has to compete at her best every competition she wrestles in because her weight class is stacked with great wrestlers such as 2008 Olympian Ali Bernard and past World champion Iris Smith.
"You can't take it for granted," she said. "We know each other so well so it forces us to try new things on each other. It helps us push us to become a better wrestler overall."
U.S. National Women's Freestyle Coach Terry Steiner said Lee is capable at winning at the highest level; she just needs to stay disciplined.
"Stephany is a great competitor. She's gotten a lot better with her positioning," Steiner said. "She's a head strong wrestler and gets really pumped up. She wrestles on emotion a lot and is dangerous because of her judo background."
Lee was pinned by past World champion Kyoko Hamaguchi of Japan in the first round at the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan.
"It was my first time being on a World Team," Lee said. "It was exciting to me and that's why I was so excited in my first match. I wanted to prove something, but I overlooked it."
Learning from that experience, Lee is more focused when she wrestles and tries to be more patient when she competes.
"I just take one match at a time and not worry about what's going to happen next," she said. "I wrestle in the moment and try not to be everywhere at once. I am building myself to become stronger mentally."
In the years Lee has been wrestling, she has been successful. She is a two-time World University champion and a two-time Pan American champion.
When she wrestles, she uses her judo background to help her throw people around.
"It's a lot about knowing where my body is majority of the time," Lee said. "I don't have to see it, I can feel it. My body awareness is so much better than people who just wrestle."
She began training in judo when she was seven years old and started wrestling when she was a sophomore in high school in Hawaii. Since there were more opportunities for her in wrestling, Lee stuck with the sport.
"My first inspiration was to go to the Olympics in judo because the person I looked up to was training in judo. I grew up with her," she said. "I think having people who are older than you when you go through sports that do things like that, it makes you want to push yourself to do the same thing. I may not be doing judo, but I am still trying to make it in another sport."
Lee is on her way to become a World and Olympic champion, something she has wanted for a long time.
"For me, to get into the Olympics and medal would be awesome," Lee said. "I am going to try to win some World Championships before the Olympics."
In order for Lee to make it that far, she has to compete at her best every competition she wrestles in because her weight class is stacked with great wrestlers such as 2008 Olympian Ali Bernard and past World champion Iris Smith.
"You can't take it for granted," she said. "We know each other so well so it forces us to try new things on each other. It helps us push us to become a better wrestler overall."
U.S. National Women's Freestyle Coach Terry Steiner said Lee is capable at winning at the highest level; she just needs to stay disciplined.
"Stephany is a great competitor. She's gotten a lot better with her positioning," Steiner said. "She's a head strong wrestler and gets really pumped up. She wrestles on emotion a lot and is dangerous because of her judo background."
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