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Real-Time Results - Patricia Miranda (48KG)
Meredith Wilson/USA Wrestling 8/23/04
Bronze Medal Match
Patricia Miranda (United States) dec. Angelique Berthenet (France), 12-4
First Period
At 1:01 Berthenet headlock throw, 3+1, Miranda reversal, 4-1 Berthenet
At 1:52 Miranda 2+1 tilt, 4-4
At 2:07 Miranda 2pt gut, 6-4 Miranda
Second Period
At 4:09 Miranda singleleg takedown 2pt gut, 9-4
At 4:41 Miranda 2pt gut, 1pt gut 12-4
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Real-Time Results - Sara McMann (63KG)
Meredith Wilson/USA Wrestling 8/23/04
Finals
Kaori Icho (Japan) dec. Sara McMann (United States), 3-2
First Period
At 1:38 Icho passive, no scoring
At 2:07 MaMann takedown, 1-0 McMann
At 2:53 McMann singleleg takedown, 2-0 McMann
Second Period
At 3:54 Icho takedown, 2-1 McMann
At 5:00 Icho takedown, 2-2
At 5:38 Icho takedown, 3-2 Icho
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8/23/2004
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
Two U.S. wrestlers have qualified for medal matches at the Women’s Olympic wrestling competition at the Ano Liossia Olympic Hall in Athens, Greece, August 23.
Sara McMann (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) won her semifinal match at 63 kg/138.75 lbs., pinning Stavroula Zygouri of Greece in 50 seconds.
McMann came out quickly and scored a double leg takedown on Zygouri, taking her to her back. McMann finished the move by holding her on her back and getting the fall.
McMann pinned Zygouri at the Women’s World Cup in October 2003, their most recent meeting prior to this match.
McMann will face Kaori Icho of Japan in the gold-medal finals. Icho defeated McMann in the gold-medal finals of the 2003 World Championships in New York, in overtime, 4-3 at 8:20.
Patricia Miranda (Colorado Springs, Colo./Dave Schultz WC) at 48 kg/105.5 lbs. was defeated in the semifinals by three-time World Champion Irini Merlini of Ukraine, 9-0.
The loss places Miranda in the bronze-medal match against France’s Angelique Berthenet, who was defeated in the other semifinal by Chiharu Icho of Japan.
Merlini opened the match with a three-point fireman’s carry dump and one additional backpoint for holding her on her back for five seconds, for a 4-0 lead. She added two more takedowns for a 6-0 lead after one period. In the second period, with Miranda on top after a passivity call, Merlini scored a two-point reversal and an additional backpoint to close the scoring at 9-0. Miranda was unable to complete any of her offensive attacks throughout the match.
Merlini defeated Miranda in the gold-medal finals of the 2003 World Championships in New York City by a 5-4 margin.
Two U.S. wrestlers competed in a qualification match, which determined if they will be able to compete in the fifth-place match. Both were defeated and did not advance.
Tela O’Donnell (Colorado Springs, Colo./Dave Schultz WC) dropped her qualification match at 55 kg/121 lbs. to Mabel Fonseca of Puerto Rico, 10-7, ending her Olympic experience. She placed seventh in the final standings.
Fonseca jumped to a quick 6-0 lead early in the first period, on three different two-point exposure techniques. O’Donnell closed the gap to 10-6 at the end of the first period. In the second period, O’Donnell scored one more takedown, but Fonseca stopped her from scoring any more points the rest of the way.
Two-time World silver medalist Toccara Montgomery (Cleveland, Ohio/New York AC) was defeated at 72 kg/158.5 lbs. by six-time World champion Christine Nordhagen of Canada, 8-3.
Nordhagen dominated the opening period, taking Montgomery down twice and turning her with three different techniques for a 7-0 lead at the mid-point break. Nordhagen added a takedown early in the second period. Montgomery scored her three points on a counter step-over for two points, with an additional backpoint for holding Nordhagen on her back for five seconds, finishing the scoring at 8-3. Montgomery placed seventh in the standings.
Montgomery has wrestled Nordhagen a number of times in the past, including in the 2001 World Championships finals, won by Nordhagen. Their most recent meeting was at the 2004 Titan Games in Atlanta, Ga., where Montgomery won by fall.
Japan placed three wrestlers in the gold-medal round. Other nations with finalists are the United States, Ukraine, Canada, Russia and China.
Women’s wrestling is the newest sport in the Summer Olympic Games, and this was a historic day for the sport. A total of 50 wrestlers qualified for the first Olympic Games women’s wrestling tournament.
Semifinal results for Monday, August 23 at 9:30 a.m.
48 kg/105.5 lbs.
Chiharu Icho (Japan) tech. fall Angelique Berthenet (France), 12-1 4:10
Irini Merlini (Ukraine) dec. Patricia Miranda (USA), 9-0
55 kg/121 lbs.
Tonya Verbeek (Canada) dec. Ida Theres Karlssson (Sweden), 3-1
Saori Yoshida (Japan) dec. Anna Gomis (France), 7-6
63 kg/138.75 lbs.
Sara McMann (USA) pin Stavroula Zygouri (Greece), 0:50
Kaori Icho (Japan) dec. Lise LeGrand (France), 4-0
72 kg/158.5 lbs.
Gouzel Maniourova (Russia) pin Svetlana Sayenko (Ukraine),1:07
Xu Wang (China) dec. Kyoko Hamaguchi (Japan), 6-4
U.S. repechage matches for Monday, August 23 at 9:30 a.m.
55 kg/121 lbs.
Mabel Fonseca (Puerto Rico) dec. Tela O’Donnell (USA), 10-7
O’Donnell places seventh
72 kg/158.5 lbs.
Christine Nordhagen (Canada) dec. Toccara Montgomery (USA), 8-3
Montgomery places seventh
Medal round pairings for Monday, Aug. 23 at 5:30 p.m.
48 kg/105.5 lbs.
Gold – Chiharu Icho (Japan) vs. Irini Merlini (Ukraine)
Bronze - Patricia Miranda (USA) vs. Angelique Berthenet (France)
55 kg/121 lbs.
Gold – Tonya Verbeek (Canada) vs. Saori Yoshida (Japan)
Bronze - Ida Theres Karlssson (Sweden) vs. Anna Gomis (France)
63 kg/138.75 lbs.
Gold – Sara McMann (USA) vs. Kaori Icho (Japan)
Bronze -Stavroula Zygouri (Greece) vs. Lise LeGrand (France)
72 kg/158.5 lbs.
Gold – Gouzel Maniourova (Russia) vs. Xu Wang (China)
Bronze - Svetlana Sayenko (Ukraine) vs. Kyoko Hamaguchi (Japan)
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Women's freestyle Olympic Games Session 3 quotes
8/23/2004
John Fuller/USA Wrestling
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Patricia Miranda, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Dave Schultz WC)
Did you wrestle any different in this match?
“I didn’t really feel any fear out there. I gave up four points early and probably overcompensated after that. My basic nature is to go a little bit harder.”
Are you still happy to have a chance to win a medal?
“It’s definitely a consolation prize that I get to say ‘Americans bounce back.’ I came here to win a gold and I didn’t accomplish that goal. Now I need to work past this loss and get ready for the bronze-medal match.”
55 kg/121 lbs. – Tela O’Donnell, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Dave Schultz WC)
Did you enjoy your Olympic experience?
“Of course. The experience is wonderful. Personally, I would like to do better. I didn’t wrestle the best that I feel I can wrestle.”
What do you need to improve?
“There’s a lot of holes that I see in my own wrestling. I need to tighten up. Other girls are getting in on my legs a lot.”
63 kg/138.75 lbs. – Sara McMann, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
How did it feel to get such a quick pin?
“It feels really good. I expected a hard-fought, six-minute match. She’s really strong. She keeps a really square stance so her weight is on her heels.”
What did you change from last night to today?
“I was real disappointed in yesterday’s match. Coming back from a loss, I was lucky to get a second chance. You want to retain yourself. You have a lot more fire coming off a loss.”
72 kg/158.5 lbs. – Toccara Montgomery, Cleveland, Ohio (New York AC)
Did you enjoy your Olympic experience?
“It was a terrible experience. I didn’t like any part of it from day one. We didn’t stay in the (Olympic) village, so I didn’t get to experience that. It was hot out, which made cutting weight very hard.”
Olympic Coach Terry Steiner
What are your thoughts on Patricia’s match?
“Merleni is a dominant wrestler, she was last year too. They both were. I think they’re both better but today wasn’t the day. Merleni got out quick with points, and in a match like that, it’s hard to come back from. Right from the start when we got down like that, I thought it was going to be hard. We weren’t getting out of the ties like we usually do.”
Will Patricia be satisfied with a bronze?
“She still has a chance at a bronze medal. She may not like it right now, but I guarantee 10 years from now she’ll cherish it. We seemed to be mentally ready but we did start slow. That’s something probably we need to work on as a national team. Patricia went out there knowing what she had to do, our game plan was to get out and push the pace early, we just didn’t control our ties. Merleni had her tie and she went with it, that was the difference I think. She’ll hurt, she wanted the gold, but she’ll bounce back. Bronze is still a medal.”