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Mat skills take Pringle to Summer Olympics |
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Wednesday, 16 July 2008 |
Cliff Buchan
Sports Writer
It’s not too often that Lori and Dick Pringle of Hugo can land all four of their children in the same place at the same time.
That one rare opportunity came along last month as all four Pringle kids were home to celebrate mom’s 47th birthday on Saturday, June 28 with a large family gathering.
While daughters Amanda, 20, and KC Jo, 16, are still at home, it’s a different story for Joshua, 27, and Chelynne, 21.
Both will soon be spread to far corners of world — one on a military mission and one on an athletic mission.
Army Sgt. Joshua Pringle, left home on July 13 for training in Alaska before an October deployment to eastern Afghanistan.
Chelynne Pringle, who has made a name for herself on the wrestling mats, is headed to China with the U.S. Olympic women’s freestyle wrestling team.
Pringle, after falling short of earning a team roster spot at the Olympic trials in Las Vegas, has been selected as a training partner for Clarissa Chun, a 27-year-old resident of Hawaii who will wrestle at the 48 kilo or 105-pound weight class for the U.S. team.
Nagging injury
A torn ligament and bicep in Pringle’s left arm was a nagging blow to her bid to make the Olympic team. She finished 2-2 at the team trials in Las Vegas last month, but was one of the top eight wrestlers in the country at the 55 kilo or 121 pounds to have a bid.
But all was not lost for Pringle. Just days after missing the cut, Pringle was tapped by Chun as her training partner.
The U.S. team departs for Beijing on Aug. 5 and will spend 21 days in China. The games open on Aug. 8.
The team continues to train at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO.
Pringle has had little time to pack and unpack between her visit home in June and a return to Colorado Springs.
On July 5, she was part of the United States team to travel to Thessaloniki, Greece to compete in the University World Games. The U.S. team captured first place in the world stage and Pringle went 2-2 in her four matches at 55 kilos to help the cause.
The Yanks returned to Colorado on Monday of this week. After a one-week break, Pringle will take to the mats with Chun, hoping to help her train for an Olympic medal.
Her goal, too
Pringle is far from ready to give up on her goal of wrestling on the highest world stage. She will be 25 when the next Olympic Games rolls around again and that’s a prime age for women wrestlers.
“Most of the girls now are 24 and older,” Pringle said of the current team.
She’s been wrestling for 14 years but admits to being excited about the trip to China, even if only as a training partner. “It’s quite an honor,” she said.
She’s planning to take in some of the sights and sounds of the moment, but is looking at the trip as far more than a vacation. Pringle hopes it will help her better understand what she could encounter in four years as an Olympian.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what it’s (the Olympics) like and to see how it runs,” she said.
The Forest Lake High School graduate and Ranger wrestler plans to return home in late August. She has wrapped her college at Pike’s Peak Community College in Colorado Springs.
She will continue her wrestling at the senior level once back home and plans to enroll in a four-year college program to prepare her for a career in nursing. The school is yet to be selected.
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