Chun to make Olympic debut

Former Missouri Valley College wrestler Clarissa Chun (bottom) used a double leg lift for a takedown at the U.S. Olympic Trials. (Joseph Stein/USA Wrestling) [Click to enlarge]

It's been a long road for Chun, 26, from her native Honolulu, Hawaii, to China, one which included three years in Marshall as a charter member of the Lady Vikings' wrestling squad during the 1999-2000 season and peaked with her championship in the 48-kilogram weight class over 2004 Olympic bronze medalist and long-time nemesis Patricia Miranda in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials at Las Vegas in June.

Chun had been runner up to Miranda in 2004, receiving a consolation of going to the World Cup -- where she finished fourth -- instead of Athens. During their recent rematch, Chun swept both matches in the best two-out-of-three championship format.

When Valley became the second U.S. college to offer a competitive women's wrestling program in 1999, Chun was among the first to sign up -- and made an immediate impact, not surprising for an athlete coming off a third-place finish in the Sunkist Kids International Open.

As a freshman, Chun won the Dave Schultz Memorial International Open and was second in the U.S. Nationals, World Team Trials and Pan American Championships.

She was also second in the World Team Trials and Pan Am Games the next year, while coming in third in the U.S. Nationals and fourth in the World Cup.

The 4-foot-11 Chun was sidelined for much of her junior year with a knee injury, but worked her way back into competition by the summer -- placing fourth at nationals, second to Miranda at the Olympic trials and third in the Pan Am Games.

Instead of returning to Valley as a senior, Chun opted to go into training full time at the U.S. Olympic Center in Colorado Springs, completing her education at the local campus of the University of Colorado. She won her first U.S. Nationals title in 2006 and was third the following year.

Going to Beijing has special meaning for Chun, who is half Chinese.

"It means a lot to be able to bring my family to where our ancestors came from," Chun said during her pre-Olympics press conference. "We came from southern China, but for them to be able to see the culture firsthand and immerse themselves amongst our peoples is great."

The favorites for Olympic gold are Chiharu Icho of Japan -- who has won the last two World titles and a silver medal in the 2004 Athens games -- 2005 World champion Xueceng Ren of China and the Ukraine's Irini Merlini. However, Chun is in the medal picture.

"Clarissa has a great chance to medal and win," Team USA head coach Terry Steiner said. "I feel that when you make the U.S. team you are tested and ready to win. There is no person out there that outclasses us. We just need to put it together on the right day."

Chun takes the mat for her first qualifying round Friday at 8:50 p.m., with Saturday's finals scheduled to be televised by MSNBC.

Other members of the American team are Marcie Van Dusen (55 kilogram), former Neosho County (Kan.) Community College grappler Randi Miller (63 kg) and Ali Bernard (72 kg) -- all first-time Olympians.

Chun isn't the only Olympic athlete with a Marshall connection. Leigh Smith, a three-time Southeastern Conference javelin champion at the University of Tennessee, has local roots: his grandmother was Marshall native Dorothy Aiken Smith and great-grandparents were Dr. and Mrs. George Aiken.

Smith, 26, a native of Ankeny, Iowa, was fifth at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., with a throw of 243 feet, 7 inches.

However, only one competitor who finished ahead of him met the Olympic standard distance, which Smith had done previously with a 274-9.

That put Smith -- a professional pilot who trains in Chicago -- on the American team, after barely missing the cut four years earlier with a third-place performance.