Casino Connection Nevada

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by Staff

The ultimate champion must capture a number of weekend contests. Until the finals, every match has the win-or-go-home ultimatum. Each contest will consist of three two-minute periods. Unlike most formats fans are familiar with,  the overall score is inconsequential. A wrestler must win two periods or pin an opponent to win the match.

If the period is tied, one wrestler starts the tie-break in an offensive position, a leg clutch. Most wrestlers can score a point easily from that position. Wrestlers reaching the finals have a little more breathing room. It’s a best-of-three.

There are seven men’s freestyle Olympic positions available, along with seven Greco-Roman spots. Four female team berths are up for grabs. The women’s most notable personality is Patricia Miranda, the first American female to capture an Olympic wrestling medal. Miranda captured bronze in 2004 in Athens and is a favorite not only in the women’s freestyle 48 kilogram competition, but in Beijing.  

The long odds she overcame to take the world stage began at home. Miranda’s father threatened to sue her high school in California for allowing her to wrestle, relenting only when she promised to maintain a 4.0 academic average.

Olympic Trials winners break for camp in Colorado Springs or Phoenix, then head for Beijing.