Thursday, Aug. 26, 2010

WCAP wrestler wins gold in CISM World Military Wrestling Championships

Iris Smith now has a World Military wrestling crown to accompany the World championship she won in 2005.

The Counseil International du Sport Militaire added women’s wrestling to their program for the first time this year, and Smith won the 158.5-pound freestyle division Aug. 14 at the 27th World Military Wrestling Championships in Lahti, Finland.

Smith, 30, a wrestler in the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program stationed at Fort Carson, Colo., took home one of the first wrestling gold medals CISM awarded to women.

“It’s something I’ve asked about for years,” she said. “I can’t believe it’s here. I’ve been in the Army for 10 years. That’s a long time. I’m definitely honored.”

Othella Lucas, 24, who took a one year hiatus from the mat before joining WCAP, also medaled in the inaugural CISM tournament for women. She captured the bronze medal in the 138.75-pound weight class Aug. 13.

“This is just the beginning of my international medals,” Lucas said. “I really feel honored. When our flag was getting raised, I was just like: Yes!”

Army WCAP wrestler Sharon Jacobson completed the U.S. women’s team with a fourth-place finish at 121 pounds. All three of those weight classes, along with 48 kilos, will be contested at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

CISM U.S. Team Captain Van Stokes, deputy director of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation at Fort Campbell, Ky., said he was impressed with the women’s performances in Lahti, where China, Belarus, Poland, USA, Germany, Finland and Kazakhstan sent 19 female wrestlers. “It’s a great start to women’s wrestling in CISM,” Stokes said. “Iris Smith was a world champion in 2005, so she brought all the qualities of a world champion to the competition. They wrestled with heart. They carried themselves as Soldiers. And they were great team members.

“The caliber of women’s wrestling was truly outstanding, and for two of our three women to come home with medals was a truly great feat. They were every bit the champions that their male counterparts were.”

Smith, a four-time national champion, relied on her experience to rally for a 1-1, 0-1, 3-0 victory over China’s Lijun Yang in her first match. In her second match, Smith defeated 2008 Olympic silver medalist Agnieszka Wieszczek of Poland, 1-0, 1-0. Smith prevailed 3-0, 5-3 in her final match against Volha Khilko of Belarus by breaking a 3-3 tie with two takedowns in the second period.

“I knew I could score that point,” Smith said. “I can’t take anything away from my opponent, but I felt confident throughout the match. I just had to minimize my mistakes.”

Lucas secured her bronze medal with a 1-0, 0-1, 2-0 victory over Hanna Savenia of Belarus. Lucas won the first period with a single-leg takedown at the 1:45 mark. Savenia took the second period with a takedown off a scramble. The final period went to Lucas, who scored with a body lock and a strong double-leg attack. In the semifinals, eventual gold medalist Haiyan Xu of China pinned Lucas with 51 seconds remaining in the second period. Lucas won her quarterfinal match, 2-4, 4-0, 4-3, over Lyudmila Mironova of Kazakhstan.