American Clarissa Chun strikes gold by winning title at World Championships

TOKYO, Japan - Clarissa Chun knew she needed to make some changes.

Fourth in the 2007 U.S. World Team Trials, Chun knew she needed to become stronger and improve her conditioning if she was going to make a serious run at landing a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team.

Chun's commitment and focus paid off in ways maybe she couldn't have even imagined a year ago. Two months after placing fifth at the 2008 Olympic Games, Chun turned in a superb effort to capture a gold medal at the World Championships on Sunday night.

Chun relied on her defense in pulling out a gritty 1-0, 1-0 finals win over Kazakhstan's Jyldyz Eshimova-Turtbayeva at the Women's World Championships on Sunday night at Yoyogi National Stadium.

The 27-year-old Chun becomes just the fifth American to win a World title in women's freestyle wrestling. Chun, from Honolulu, Hawaii, won the first period from the defensive position in the clinch before countering and going behind the Kazakhstan wrestler for the only takedown of the second period.

The powerful, 20-year-old Eshimova-Turtbayeva placed second in the 2008 Junior World Championships. Chun had reached the finals by downing past World bronze medalist Makiko Sakamoto of Japan in the semifinals at 48 kg/105.5 lbs.

Chun's transformation in 2008 came under the direction of her coach, Keith Wilson, who was in Chun's corner during this tournament. Chun jumped into Wilson's arms just moments after winning her World title.

Chun became the first American since Iris Smith in 2005 to win a World title. In addition to Chun and Smith, Tricia Saunders won four World titles for the U.S., Kristie Marano won two and Sandra Bacher one.

Chun, who trains in Colorado Springs and wrestles for the Sunkist Kids, grew up in Hawaii. She is part Japanese and part Chinese. She plans to stay in Japan after the Worlds and teach English to elementary school students in Japan.

American Alaina Berube lost in the first round of the Repechage on Sunday afternoon and fell short of placing at 63 kg/138.75. Berube rolled to a 7-1 first-period win over Hanna Beliayeva of Belarus and had taken a 1-0 lead in the second period. But Beliayeva hit a headlock midway through the second period and recorded a fall to advance to the bronze-medal match.

Day 3 of the three-day tournament is set for Monday with competition at 55 kg/121 lbs. and 72 kg/158.5 lbs. The U.S. will send Tatiana Padilla (Azusa, Calif./Sunkist Kids) to the mat at 55 kilos with Stephany Lee (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) set to compete at 72 kilos.

Padilla will face Sofia Pompouridou of Greece in her first bout and Lee will take on five-time World champion Kyoko Hamaguchi of Japan. Hamaguchi won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics.

WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Sunday's medalists

48 kg/105.5 lbs.
Gold - Clarissa Chun (USA)
Silver - Jyldyz Eshimova-Turtbayeva (Kazakhstan)
Bronze - Makiko Sakamoto (Japan)
Bronze - Guibei Su (China)

63 kg/138.75 lbs.
Gold - Mio Nishimaki (Japan)
Silver - Lubov Volosova (Russia)
Bronze - Audrey Prieto Bokhashvilla (France)
Bronze - Lili Meng (China)

U.S. results - Sunday, Oct. 12, Tokyo, Japan

48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Clarissa Chun, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids), 1st
WIN Kaya Demet (Turkey), by fall
WIN Pei-Ching Tsai (Taipei), by fall
WIN Makiko Sakamoto (Japan), 0-1, 3-0, 1-1
WIN Jyldyz Eshimova-Turtbayeva (Kazakhstan), 1-0, 1-0

63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Alaina Berube, River Falls, Wis. (New York AC)
WIN Simona Corbani (Italy), 1-0, 7-0
LOSS Lubov Volosova (Russia), 3-0, 2-0
LOSS Hanna Beliayeva (Belarus), 7-1, by fall