News Page

Updated: 9/16/2003 7:37 PM
By: Deborah Garcia

Wrestling is a sport that men have been competing in for centuries, but they better watch their backs because this mom takes no prisoners on the mat.

Kristie Marano has just won her seventh World Wrestling Freestyle Championship medal -- something she has been training and looking forward to since she was a little girl.

Marano, originally of Colonie, was the only American woman to win a gold medal at this year's championships. This 24-year-old mom has been competing since 1996 and was excited that this year's event was at nearby Madison Square Garden in New York
City.

Marano said, "Going in there and competing was just crazy, looking up and seeing everybody. I had friends and family. I had 20 friends and family there that came down. This weekend was just crazy."

Marano grew up in a home where wrestling was not only encouraged, but embraced. Her father and two brothers have been competing for years. So when women were finally allowed onto the mat, Marano didn't skip a beat -- even to become a single mom to daughter Kayla.

Marano said, "She's not out there just yelling 'go mommy.' She's yelling moves, right moves to do. So she's definitely supportive."

Marano now lives in Colorado, training to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. It will be the first time women's wrestling will be included as an event.