Women’s Wrestling Week: Adeline Gray, first to win Junior, University and Senior World titles
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Adeline Gray won World gold medals on consecutive weeks in 2012, a Senior World title in Canada (left), followed by a University World title in Finland.
With the development of women’s wrestling on the international level, opportunities were added on the age-group levels for young women to compete at a World level.
The first recognized Senior World Championships for women was held in Lorenskog, Norway in 1987, an event that the United States did not participate in. The USA was included in the 1989 Women’s World Championships in Martigny, Switzerland, which was held alongside the men’s freestyle and Greco-Roman World meets.
The first age-group World Championships for young women now recognized by United World Wrestling were the Cadet and Junior World Championships, held in Dijon, France in 1988.
The United States has actively participated in the Senior and age-group World events since that 1989 Senior Worlds in Switzerland.
The most successful U.S. wrestler when combining age-group and Senior World competitions is Colorado native Adeline Gray, who won World gold medals on the Junior, University and Senior levels,
Gray’s first World title came on the Junior level, for athletes 17-20 years old. The tournament was held in Istanbul, Turkey, July 31, 2008. At the time, Gray was 17 years old at the time of her first World gold.
Gray won three matches at the 67 kg/147.5 lbs. weight class. She opened with a pair of pins, putting away Chiaki Iijima of Japan and Olga Kalinina of Kazakhstan. In the finals, she scored a 1-1, 0-2, 2-1 victory over Mongolia’s Ochirbat Nasanburmaa. Team USA had four medals in the tournament and took home the third-place team trophy from Istanbul.
Her next World title was at the Senior level, when the 2012 Women’s World Championships were held in Sherwood Park, Canada, Sept. 27-29. Gray won a Trials event to secure the 67 kg/147.5 pound spot on the team.
Gray won three matches to reach the finals, beating Dzhanan Manolova of Bulgaria, 3-0, 2-0 in the preliminaires, stopping Yoshiko Inoue of Japan, 1-1, 3-0 in the quarterfinals and pinning India’s Kaur Navjot in 1:59 in the semifinals. In the gold-medal match, Gray pinned Canada’s Junior World champion Dorothy Yeats in the second period for her first Senior World gold medal.
Joining Gray as a World champion in Canada was Elena Pirozhkova at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. The USA had four medals and won a team trophy with a third-place finish in the team standings.
Just one week later, Gray entered the University World Championships in Kourtane, Finland, October 2-6. She moved up a weight class for this event, entering at 72 kg/158.5 pounds. She powered through three opponents on the way to the gold medal. She opened with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Yinan Xi of China, then stopped Tamae Yoshii of Japan, 6-0, 6-0. In the finals, she defeated Canada’s tough Erica Wiebe, 4-0, 1-0. Gray outscored three athletes from the world’s top women’s wrestling nations by a combined 29-0.
Gray has not stopped winning World-level gold medals, as she had added Senior world titles in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in 2014 and in Las Vegas, Nev. in 2015. Currently, only the legendary Tricia Saunders has more Senior-level World gold medals for the United States than Adeline. And this year, Gray, along with all the top athletes in the USA women’s program, is attempting to become the first U.S. women’s wrestler to win an Olympic gold medal.
Each day for the rest of Women’s Wrestling Week, TheMat.com will post a story on women’s wrestling history in the United States.
ABOUT WOMEN’S WRESTLING WEEK
USA Wrestling has declared the week of March 5-13 as Women’s Wrestling Week in the United States. Any female athlete who is not a member of USA Wrestling is invited to come out and try the sport at a chartered club practice. USA Wrestling will provide a complimentary membership for March 5-13, the time covered by Women’s Wrestling Week.
USA Wrestling chartered clubs have been encouraged to allow females of all ages to attend their practice free of charge during World Wrestling Week. To find a club program in your area, visit the link below:
http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Membership/Athletes/Find-a-Club
Additionally, female athletes with prior wrestling experience who would like to participate in a USA Wrestling sanctioned event may do so on both weekends of March 5-6 and March 12-13. USA Wrestling extended the week to cover two weekends in order to provide even more opportunity for young women to try the sport. Athletes who will attend practices or events with the complimentary membership are asked to confirm their attendance in advance with the club leader or event host before going to the activity.
With the development of women’s wrestling on the international level, opportunities were added on the age-group levels for young women to compete at a World level.
The first recognized Senior World Championships for women was held in Lorenskog, Norway in 1987, an event that the United States did not participate in. The USA was included in the 1989 Women’s World Championships in Martigny, Switzerland, which was held alongside the men’s freestyle and Greco-Roman World meets.
The first age-group World Championships for young women now recognized by United World Wrestling were the Cadet and Junior World Championships, held in Dijon, France in 1988.
The United States has actively participated in the Senior and age-group World events since that 1989 Senior Worlds in Switzerland.
The most successful U.S. wrestler when combining age-group and Senior World competitions is Colorado native Adeline Gray, who won World gold medals on the Junior, University and Senior levels,
Gray’s first World title came on the Junior level, for athletes 17-20 years old. The tournament was held in Istanbul, Turkey, July 31, 2008. At the time, Gray was 17 years old at the time of her first World gold.
Gray won three matches at the 67 kg/147.5 lbs. weight class. She opened with a pair of pins, putting away Chiaki Iijima of Japan and Olga Kalinina of Kazakhstan. In the finals, she scored a 1-1, 0-2, 2-1 victory over Mongolia’s Ochirbat Nasanburmaa. Team USA had four medals in the tournament and took home the third-place team trophy from Istanbul.
Her next World title was at the Senior level, when the 2012 Women’s World Championships were held in Sherwood Park, Canada, Sept. 27-29. Gray won a Trials event to secure the 67 kg/147.5 pound spot on the team.
Gray won three matches to reach the finals, beating Dzhanan Manolova of Bulgaria, 3-0, 2-0 in the preliminaires, stopping Yoshiko Inoue of Japan, 1-1, 3-0 in the quarterfinals and pinning India’s Kaur Navjot in 1:59 in the semifinals. In the gold-medal match, Gray pinned Canada’s Junior World champion Dorothy Yeats in the second period for her first Senior World gold medal.
Joining Gray as a World champion in Canada was Elena Pirozhkova at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. The USA had four medals and won a team trophy with a third-place finish in the team standings.
Just one week later, Gray entered the University World Championships in Kourtane, Finland, October 2-6. She moved up a weight class for this event, entering at 72 kg/158.5 pounds. She powered through three opponents on the way to the gold medal. She opened with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Yinan Xi of China, then stopped Tamae Yoshii of Japan, 6-0, 6-0. In the finals, she defeated Canada’s tough Erica Wiebe, 4-0, 1-0. Gray outscored three athletes from the world’s top women’s wrestling nations by a combined 29-0.
Gray has not stopped winning World-level gold medals, as she had added Senior world titles in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in 2014 and in Las Vegas, Nev. in 2015. Currently, only the legendary Tricia Saunders has more Senior-level World gold medals for the United States than Adeline. And this year, Gray, along with all the top athletes in the USA women’s program, is attempting to become the first U.S. women’s wrestler to win an Olympic gold medal.
Each day for the rest of Women’s Wrestling Week, TheMat.com will post a story on women’s wrestling history in the United States.
ABOUT WOMEN’S WRESTLING WEEK
USA Wrestling has declared the week of March 5-13 as Women’s Wrestling Week in the United States. Any female athlete who is not a member of USA Wrestling is invited to come out and try the sport at a chartered club practice. USA Wrestling will provide a complimentary membership for March 5-13, the time covered by Women’s Wrestling Week.
USA Wrestling chartered clubs have been encouraged to allow females of all ages to attend their practice free of charge during World Wrestling Week. To find a club program in your area, visit the link below:
http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Membership/Athletes/Find-a-Club
Additionally, female athletes with prior wrestling experience who would like to participate in a USA Wrestling sanctioned event may do so on both weekends of March 5-6 and March 12-13. USA Wrestling extended the week to cover two weekends in order to provide even more opportunity for young women to try the sport. Athletes who will attend practices or events with the complimentary membership are asked to confirm their attendance in advance with the club leader or event host before going to the activity.
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