Adeline Gray is probably the greatest women wrestler ever to take the mat under the United States flag. The 29-year-old has won world championship medals seven times including five gold medals in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2019. She is yet to add the coveted Olympic medal to her already glorious cabinet. She is amongst the favourites to climb the podium in the 76kg weight category. But her journey to the top has not always been about wrestling instead her father wanted her to be a boxer while her mother wanted her to try basketball. So how did she get into wrestling?
Here is an excerpt of the interview:
TokyoNP: How did you start wrestling?
Gray: My father wanted me to do boxing, but my mother opposed it because many of my relatives had wrestling experience and she often went to see my uncle who was a US representative. At that time, I was 6-years-old. When I was 10, my mother recommended basketball. But by that time I was already absorbed in wrestling. Although my mother recommended different sports after that, I did not want to change.
TokyoNP: You were denied entry to the wrestling club at junior high school. Why?
Gray: Before I entered junior high school, I was already a prominent junior high school student. As a matter of fact, when I went for an entrance exam, my male coach refused me. I told my mother, “Oh, that’s illegal,” and immediately called my aunt, who was a board member. My mother was an ardent follower of Title Nine, and I knew the law already at the time. My mother knew Billy Jean King, a former female professional tennis player who seeks to eliminate sex discrimination in sports. I was also a big fan.
Tokyo NP: What was the result of the call?
Gray: The next day, a female principal came to the classroom and said, “I’m sorry. It was not the intention of the school to refuse you to join the club. I want you to join the school team.” Wrestling with just one person I was saved by three women when I gave up. I didn’t realize how serious it was at the time. Now I realize how important it is for women to be in a leadership position.
TokyoNP: You normally trained and competed with boys?
Gray: When I was a high school student, it was usually boys. I fought against girls for the first time when I participated in a US women’s camp at an Olympic training centre (in Colorado). Even so, I played with boys in 30-40 matches and girls in 5-8 games a year.
TokyoNP: The Tokyo Olympics have been postponed due to the new coronavirus. What is the impact?
Gray: I lived in the Olympic Training Center, but it was closed in March, so I had to find my home first. It was hard to practice on the mat. Fortunately, my sister, a wrestling coach, helped me with my training. It’s been a year, but I have to do what I need to do.
TokyoNP: What is your expectations from the Tokyo Olympics?
Gray: Japan will aim to monopolize the podium as a host country. We also want to practice hard and catch up. I also want to occupy the first or second place on the podium with Japan.
