TOKYO, Japan — Olympic wrestler Kayla Miracle had her chances of a medal dashed Wednesday morning when she lost a close match to a Team China competitor at the Tokyo Olympics.
Miracle, who trains and coaches at Sunkist Kids Regional Training Center in Tempe, lost to Team China's Long Jia 3-2 during the women's 62kg class tournament.
She wasn't the only Team USA wrestler who lost in the 1/8 finals Wednesday. Alejandro Sancho and John Stefanowicz, both U.S. military members, also had their Olympics stopped short.
Sancho lost to the Russian Olympic Committee's Artem Surkov 10-4 while Stefanowicz fell to Team Croatia's Ivan Huklek 5-3.
Miracle started her standout wrestling career early on, becoming a state qualifier competing against boys while she attended Attended Culver Academy high school in Indiana.
She is ranked number one on Team USA at the 62 kg/136.5 lbs weight class and has a number of previous achievements under her belt, including:
- Eighth at 2019 World Championships
- Second in 2019 U23 World Championships
- Three-time U.S. Open champion (2017, 2018, 2019)
- 2019 Final X champion
- 2019 Pan American Games champion
- 2019 World Team Trials Challenge Tournament champion
Tokyo Olympics
The Tokyo Olympics are here! Watch some of our content featuring athletes and stories with unique Arizona connections on our 12 News YouTube playlist here.