OMG! I still can barely believe it's real. I mean, I went out to win. But it's still such an awesome feeling to walk away with that gold medal.
3 and a half years of hard work!
I think that first international gold medal alleviates some of the pressure to achieve it. Now I can go into the Mundials (World Championships) with more confidence. And I am super excited to get there!
The matches all went really well without even so much as a single advantage being scored against me! Ryan adjusted my game plan after the first match and told me to pull guard. I'd never pulled guard in a match before but I trusted him. The first one was ugly but so what!
Three matches, all won on points. The first match I won by only one advantage even though I still think I should've receive two points for the throw (but she really landed out of bounds). The second match I won on points but I had a choke from the back completely sunk in when time ran out. Shucks! The third match was against the second place finisher from last year's Mundials. She finished her first two opponents quickly that day. I went for an arm bar early on. My dumb ass though was going for the tap instead of the break and I didn't slam my hips into her elbow enough which gave her just enough time for the elbow to slip. I switched quickly to the flower sweep and came up on top. Where I spent the rest of the match. I wish I could've gotten the finish, but I won't make that mistake again.
Thanks for all your help, baby! I owe this one to you!!! :) :)
Posts
Congrats! 'Pan-Am Champ' definitely stands out on a resume. ;)
ReplyDeleteYes, way to go! That is a big deal!
ReplyDeleteDang! That's awesome! I'm excited to hear how your training for Mundials goes. What weight class were you in?
ReplyDeleteI'd love to hear more about your training background or history. I'm a new blue belt... as a whitebelt, I was keen on doing Pan Ams/Mundials etc this year. Then I got promoted and it totally took the wind out of my sails. I'd like to hear more about how your competitive mindset has progressed over your 3.5 years... how many people were in your bracket, was it your first Pan Ams, how long were you a blue before you felt confident competing against other blues, etc.
THANKS! :) and keep up the great work!
congratz!
ReplyDeletenice seeing you at the pans !
NY Open on the plans ?