America's first four female wrestlers are linked by a shared resilience and a stubborn commitment to compete in a sport that hasn't exactly welcomed them.
They are familiar with discrimination, hostility and, for two of them, brutal violence that has saddened but also hardened them.
Toccara Montgomery took up wrestling partly as an outlet to deal with emotions that overwhelmed her when her father was imprisoned for a double murder. Sara McMann began wrestling to emulate her older brother, only to lose him five years ago in a beating death. Tela O'Donnell petitioned her local school officials just for the chance to practice against male wrestlers. Patricia Miranda’s father once threatened to take her school system to court for allowing her to wrestle boys.
No wonder this determined group of first-time Olympians disputes any notion that it is a pampered byproduct of a sports-friendly system that coddles its top stars. "They've all come through a sport that hasn't given them much and they've made it happen," US coach Terry Steiner said. "But I think that once people see them here ... they will say, `Hey, this is OK, let them go."'
Women have wrestled worldwide for decades, but they weren't welcomed into the Games until now. As a result, the US women are dealing with tepid support from the US men's programme.
The combined 20 weight classes in freestyle and Graeco-Roman wrestling of the 1996 Games have shrunk to 14 -- seven in each discipline -- partly to accommodate the women. Not surprisingly, some in the predominantly male US wrestling community are resentful that a women's sport sponsored by only six US colleges is costing them possible medals.
"We still have a long way to go to gain respect, but this is how it starts," Miranda said. "When they see sweat, tears, triumphs, they'll see that we're the same as any other." Miranda is something of a pioneer, having overcome her father's opposition to her career to make the men's team at Stanford. "What I like about wrestling is that, if you lose, you can't blame anyone else. If you win, you own that for your life," Miranda said.
