Adeline Gray

Last updated

Adeline Gray
Adeline Gray on Sidewalks Entertainment.jpg
Gray in 2021
Personal information
Full nameAdeline Maria Gray
Born (1991-01-15) January 15, 1991 (age 34)
Denver, Colorado, U.S. [1]
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm) [2]
SpouseDamaris Sanders [3]
Sport
CountryUnited States
Sport Wrestling
Event Freestyle
University team DeVry University
Club New York Athletic Club [4]
TeamUSA
Coached by Terry Steiner, Nate Engel [2]
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals 1
World finals6
National finals5
Highest world ranking1
Updated on 26 February 2024

Adeline Maria Gray (born January 15, 1991) is an American freestyle wrestler who currently competes at 76 kilograms. She is a six-time world champion (2012, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021) and a two-time Olympian (2016, 2020), having won her first medal, a silver, at the 2020 Summer Olympics. [5] She is the first American woman to win back-to-back wrestling world titles since Tricia Saunders in 1998 and 1999. She is also the first American woman wrestler to win six world championships. [6]

Contents

Early life

Gray was born on January 15, 1991, in Denver, Colorado to George and Donna Gray, [7] and has three younger sisters, including fellow wrestler Geneva Gray and began her wrestling career with the help of her father. [8] [1] She graduated from Bear Creek High School in Lakewood, Colorado.[ citation needed ]

Career

On September 27, 2012, Gray competed in the 2012 Women's World Wrestling Championships in Edmonton, Canada. [9] In her first match against Dzhanan Manolova of Bulgaria, Adeline came out a little slow, then exploded with a great 3 point throw and won the 1st period 3–0. In the second period, she took Manolova down and turned her in a leg lace for another point, then she just defended the rest of the period for a 2–0 win. In the next round, she faced off against Yoshiko Inoue of Japan, the only one to score on Adeline. Inoue scored first in the first period but Adeline came back and scored on a push out to secure the first period win. In the second period, Adeline looked in control with her under hooks, scoring a throw-by and getting her leg lace for a 3–0 win. In the Semi-Finals against Kaur Navjot of India, she looked very confident and showed no fear and dominated Navjot from the start. Adeline secured her second takedown and controlled her legs standing tilts to a stack for the pin.[ citation needed ]

In the Finals, Gray faced off against the 2012 Jr World Champion, Dorothy Yeats of Canada, only 19 years old and the crowd favorite. Adeline came out very confident and took it to Yeats, throwing her for 3 points and scoring in another takedown to win the 1st period 4–0. In the second period, Adeline stayed in control and secured a takedown late in the period, then put Yeats on her back with her signature arm-bar-wing and pinned her with 4 seconds left for a dominating win.[ citation needed ]

Gray at the 2015 Pan Am Games Adeline Gray (USA) 2015.jpg
Gray at the 2015 Pan Am Games

Gray competed in the 75 kg event at the 2016 Summer Olympics, where she won her first match against Andrea Olaya of Colombia, [10] but lost her quarterfinal match against Vasilisa Marzaliuk of Belarus. [11]

Gray spent the 2017 season recuperating from injuries, missing the 2017 World Championships. [12]

She returned from her injuries in 2018, winning gold at the 2018 World Wrestling Championships. In 2019, she won gold at the 2019 Pan American Wrestling Championships. Later that year, she won her fifth gold medal at the World Wrestling Championships, becoming the first American wrestler to win five golds at the World Championships. [13] She won silver at the 2020 Pan American Wrestling Championships, winning her first two matches, before withdrawing from her gold medal match against Justina Di Stasio of Canada due to rib fractures. [8]

At the 2020 U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials, Gray defeated Kylie Welker by technical superiority twice, qualifying to represent the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics. [14] In her opening bout, she won by fall against 2020 African Wrestling Championships gold medalist Zaineb Sghaier. [15] In the quarterfinals, she defeated former world champion and four-time European champion Yasemin Adar by a score of 6–4. [16] In the semifinals, she defeated two-time Asian Wrestling Championships finalist Aiperi Medet Kyzy by a score of 3–2. [17] She was awarded a silver medal after being defeated by former world champion Aline Rotter-Focken by a score of 7–3 in the gold medal match. [18]

Gray at the 2021 World Wrestling Championships Adeline Gray 2 (cropped).JPG
Gray at the 2021 World Wrestling Championships

In 2021, she won the gold medal in the women's 76 kg event at the World Wrestling Championships held in Oslo, Norway. [19] [20] Gray won one of the bronze medals in the women's 76 kg event at the 2023 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia. [21] She defeated Milaimys Marín of Cuba in her bronze medal match. [21] Gray also earned a quota place for the United States for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. [22]

Gray won a bronze medal in the women's 76 kg event at the 2024 Pan American Wrestling Championships held in Acapulco, Mexico. [23]

Endorsements

Gray is the first female wrestler to have her own signature shoe. The ASICS Aggressor 3 L.E. Adeline Gray [24] wrestling shoe, a special edition signature shoe designed by Gray.

Personal life

Outside of competing, and while women's wrestling was created to combat sexism and receives an extraordinary amount of support from the institution of wrestling, Gray has been wrestling the bigger issues of sexism, and promoting equal recognition and participation on the elite levels, including Olympic and collegiate level wrestling. [25] [26]

International matches

Res.RecordOpponentScoreDateEventLocation
2021 World Champion
Win52-5 Flag of Estonia.svg Epp Mae Fall (6-4)October 4, 2021 2021 World Wrestling Championships Flag of Norway.svg Oslo
Win51-5 Flag of Egypt.svg Samar Amer Fall (11-1)
Win50-5 Flag of India.svg Kiran Bishnoi Fall (5-0)
Win49-5 Flag of Turkey.svg Ayşegül Özbege Fall (4-0)
2021 Olympic Silver Medalist
Loss48-5 Flag of Germany.svg Aline Rotter-Focken 7-3August 2, 2021 2021 Olympic Games Flag of Japan.svg Tokyo
Win48-4 Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg Aiperi Medet Kyzy 3-2
Win47-4 Flag of Turkey.svg Yasemin Adar 6-4
Win46-4 Flag of Tunisia.svg Zaineb Sghaier Fall 2:11
2021 Pan American Champion
Win45-4 Flag of Brazil.svg Aline Ferreira 8-0May 27, 2021 2021 Pan American Wrestling Championships Flag of Guatemala.svg Guatemala City
Win44-4 Flag of Colombia.svg Luisa Mosquera Forfeit (0-0)
Win43-4 Flag of El Salvador.svg Josselyn Portillo Fall (4-0)
Win42-4 Flag of Ecuador.svg Genesis Reasco Valdez Tech Fall (12-2)
2020 Pan American Silver Medalist
Loss41-4 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Justina Di Stasio Injury default (0-0)March 14, 2020 2020 Pan American Wrestling Championships Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Ottawa
Win41–3 Flag of Colombia.svg Andrea Olaya Tech Fall (11–0)
Win40–3 Flag of Venezuela.svg Andrimar Daniela Lazaro Diaz2–0
2019 World Champion
Win39–3 Flag of Japan.svg Hiroe Minagawa 4–2September 19, 2019 2019 World Championships Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Nur-Sultan
Win38–3 Flag of Germany.svg Aline Rotter-Focken 5–2September 18, 2019
Win37–3 Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg Chang Hui-tsz Tech Fall (10–0)
Win36–3 Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Elmira Syzdykova Tech Fall (10–0)
Win35–3 Flag of Italy.svg Eleni PjollajTech Fall (10–0)
2019 Pan American Champion
Win34–3 Flag of Ecuador.svg Genesis Reasco ValdezFallApril 21, 2019 2019 Pan American Wrestling Championships Flag of Argentina.svg Buenos Aires
Win33–3 Flag of Cuba.svg Mabelkis Capote Tech Fall (10–0)
Win32–3 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Erica Wiebe Tech Fall (10–0)
Win31–3 Flag of Venezuela.svg María Acosta Tech Fall (10–0)
2018 World Champion
Win30–3 Flag of Turkey.svg Yasemin Adar Tech Fall (13–1)October 24, 2018 2018 World Championships Flag of Hungary.svg Budapest
Win29–3 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Erica Wiebe 3–1October 23, 2018
Win28–3 Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Elmira Syzdykova Fall
Win27–3 Flag of Estonia.svg Epp Mäe Tech Fall (10–0)
2018 Pan American Champion
Win26-2 Flag of Colombia.svg Andrea Olaya Fall (10-1)May 3, 2018 2018 Pan-American Wrestling Championships Flag of Peru.svg Lima
Win25–2 Flag of Brazil.svg Aline Ferreira Fall (4-0)
Win24–2 Flag of Cuba.svg Mabelkis Capote Fall (4-0)
2016 Summer Olympics
Loss23–3 Flag of Belarus.svg Vasilisa Marzaliuk 1–4August 18, 2016 2016 Summer Olympics Flag of Brazil.svg Rio de Janeiro
Win23–2 Flag of Colombia.svg Andrea Olaya Fall
2015 World Champion
Win22–2 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Zhou Qian Tech Fall (13–2)September 10, 2015 2015 World Championships Flag of the United States.svg Las Vegas, NV
Win21–2 Flag of Brazil.svg Aline Ferreira 10–2
Win20–2 Flag of Poland.svg Daria OsockaTech Fall (10–0)
Win19–2 Flag of Belarus.svg Vasilisa Marzaliuk 6–0
Win18–2 Flag of Mongolia.svg Gelegjamtsyn NaranchimegTech Fall (10–0)
2015 Pan American Games
Win17–2 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Justina Di Stasio 7–6July 17, 2015 2015 Pan American Games Champion Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Toronto, ON
Win16–2 Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Ana GonzalezTech Fall (12–0)
Win15–2 Flag of Brazil.svg Aline Ferreira Tech Fall (10–0)
2014 World Champion
Win14–2 Flag of Brazil.svg Aline Ferreira 2–1September 11, 2014 2014 World Championship Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Tashkent
Win13–2 Flag of Estonia.svg Epp Mäe 5–1
Win12–2 Flag of Japan.svg Hiroe Suzuki 2–1
Win11–2 Flag of Turkey.svg Yasemin Adar Fall
Win10–2 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Zhou Qian 11–10
2013 World Bronze Medalist
Win9–2 Flag of Turkey.svg Yasemin Adar 8–2September 20, 2013 2013 World Championship Flag of Hungary.svg Budapest
Win8–2 Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Guzel Manyurova 2–1
Loss7–2 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Zhang Fengliu 2–1
Win7–1 Flag of Colombia.svg Andrea Olaya Fall
2012 World Champion
Win6–1 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Dorothy Yeats FallSeptember 26, 2012 2012 World Championship Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Strathcona County, AL
Win5–1 Flag of India.svg Navjot Kaur Fall
Win4–1 Flag of Japan.svg Yoshiko Inoue 1–1, 3–0
Win3–1 Flag of Bulgaria.svg Dzhanan Manolova 2–0, 3–0
2011 World Bronze Medalist
Win2–1 Flag of Turkey.svg Burcu Örskaya1–0, 1–0September 16, 2011 2011 World Championship Flag of Turkey.svg Istanbul
Win1–1 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Martine Dugrenier 1–1, 3–1
Loss0–1 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Xiluo Zhuoma 1–4, 0–1

References

  1. 1 2 "Adeline Gray Biography". asicsamerica.com. ASICS America Corporation. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Adeline Gray the best American wrestler Biography". teamusa.org. United States Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on January 21, 2014. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  3. Magallanes, Lydia (November 16, 2018). "Fort Polk spouse wins fourth women's world wrestling title". kalb.com.
  4. "ADELINE GRAY". teamusa.org. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015.
  5. Brunt, Cliff (August 2, 2021). "USA's Gray loses 76kg final to Germany's Rotter-Focken". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  6. Burke, Patrick (October 6, 2021). "Adelaine Maria Gray wins sixth title at Wrestling World Championships". InsideTheGames.biz . Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  7. "Adeline Gray Biography". Team USA. Archived from the original on June 18, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  8. 1 2 Zaccardi, Nick (October 10, 2020). "Adeline Gray wrestles after 6 months away. Her sister wrestles for the first time in 9 years". NBCSports.com.
  9. mathieu (October 4, 2012). "Interview: Adeline Gray (USA) World Champion and World University Champion". FISU. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  10. Mendola, Nicholas (August 18, 2016). "Trio of USA women wrestlers win opening Olympic battles, move on".
  11. Mendola, Nicholas (August 18, 2016). "Two American women to wrestle for medals; Maroulis will go for gold".
  12. Adeline Gray to take 2017 season to recover from injuries Team USA
  13. Meyer, John (September 19, 2019). "Denver's Adeline Gray becomes first American wrestler to win five world titles". DenverPost.com.
  14. Azzi, Alex (April 4, 2021). "Maroulis and Gray lead stacked U.S. women's wrestling team to Tokyo". NBCSports.com.
  15. "Wrestling - GRAY Adeline Maria vs SGHAIER Zaineb - 1/8 Final Results". Tokyo 2020 Olympics .
  16. "Wrestling - GRAY Adeline Maria vs ADAR Yasemin - 1/4 Final Results". Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
  17. "Wrestling - GRAY Adeline Maria vs MEDET KYZY Aiperi - Semifinal Results". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Archived from the original on July 28, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  18. Reiner, Olivia. "USA's Adeline Gray wins silver in wrestling for her first Olympic medal". USA TODAY. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  19. Price, Karen (October 6, 2021). "Adeline Gray Makes History With Record Sixth Wrestling World Title". Team USA. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  20. "2021 World Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 16, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  21. 1 2 "2023 World Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 4, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  22. "Qualification System – Games of the XXXIII Olympiad – Paris 2024 – Wrestling" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 13, 2024. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  23. "2024 Pan American Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 28, 2024. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  24. "Aggressor 3 L.E. AG | Men | Black/Onyx/Pink Glow | ASICS US". Archived from the original on March 14, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  25. Pilon, Mary (August 9, 2016). "How This Female Olympic Wrestler Is Pinning Sexism to the Mat". Fortune.com.
  26. Longman, Molly (August 3, 2021). "'We're Not At Equal Opportunities Yet': Olympian Adeline Gray On The Gender Gap In Wrestling". refinery29.com.