Women’s wrestling wins gold, gains in popularity, but still faces adversity
By EmmaKate Austin When Rio Olympian Elena Pirozhkova was in seventh grade, her brother persuaded her to join wrestling. Not knowing what she was getting herself into, she assumed it would be something along the lines of the WWF or WWE’s Monday Night Raw. She thought she would be jumping off of ropes, tackling her […]
The road to Rio: Music and meditation help prepare woman wrestler for the Olympic Qualifiers
By Nicole Sedivy Just 25 seconds before the women’s freestyle finals were about to begin, Sarah Hildebrant was still pacing around the mat in her red Team USA singlet, with “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC blasting through the headphones that covered her messy French braids. Her adrenaline was rushing. She felt the rage. Hildebrandt, the two-time Pan […]
Women’s wrestling takes a strong stance
By Jasmine Cannon Until two decades ago, a fan could go to a wrestling match and all of the athletes shared a common trait: they were male. Now the ladies have leagues of their own. Twelve years ago, women’s wrestling became an Olympic sport. Today 28 colleges sponsor a varsity program and more than 11,000 […]
Icy debate over alternative therapies for athletes
By Erin Barney Justina Di Stasio put on a surgical mask, cotton gloves, thick socks and rubber shoes. A tank top and shorts left her arms and legs exposed to -120 degree temperatures, and after only 30 seconds, she lost feeling in her muscles. She went completely numb in the remaining two minutes of her […]