Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
Patricia Miranda of New Haven, Conn. has been named the 2004 Woman of the Year by USA Wrestling, the national governing body for amateur wrestling. This award recognizes an outstanding woman for her contributions to the sport of wrestling.
Miranda was a member of the historic 2004 U.S. Olympic women’s wrestling team, which competed at the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. It was the first time that women’s wrestling was included in the Olympics, with four weight divisions contested. The United States qualified an athlete to compete in all four divisions. Miranda was a member of the Dave Schultz WC, and a U.S. Olympic Training Center resident athlete.
Miranda won a bronze medal at 48 kg/105.5 pounds, one of two U.S. women wrestlers to capture a medal at the Athens Games. It was the first medal ever awarded at the Olympic Games to a female wrestler.
Miranda won her first three matches at the Olympics to reach the semifinals, defeating Li Hui of China, 8-5 and Lorisa Oorzhak of Russia, 7-3, in the pool, then scoring a dominant 11-1 technical fall over Mayelis Caripa of Venezuela in the quarterfinals.
She was defeated by three-time World champion Irini Merlini of Ukraine in the semifinals, 9-0. Merlini went on to win the gold medal, the first Olympic champion for women’s wrestling in history. Miranda rebounded from the loss to capture the bronze-medal match, stopping Angelique Berthenet of France, 12-4.
Miranda had an outstanding year on the mats, leading up to her Olympic performance. She qualified for the U.S. team by winning the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wrestling in Indianapolis, Ind. in May, defeating Clarissa Chun of the Gator WC in two straight matches. She was also the U.S. Nationals champion at her division, her third straight U.S. Nationals titles.
She won gold medals during the year at the Klippan Ladies Open in Sweden and the Manitoba International in Canada. She also placed fifth at two major events, the Olympic Testing Event in Greece and the Kiev Grand Prix in Ukraine.
Prior to and during the Olympic Games, Miranda was the subject of numerous media reports on the national level, including respected national magazines, newspapers, television shows and radio broadcasts.
Her personal story caught the attention of the national media and helped promote Women’s Team USA and the sport of women’s wrestling. Included in many stories was her decision to delay her first year at Yale Law School to concentrate on her Olympic quest. Miranda’s career as a member of the Stanford Univ. men’s wrestling team was also of interest, as was her relationship with her father Jose, who at one point did not support her decision to be involved in wrestling.
Miranda was selected by Newsweek magazine for its year-end issue in December 2003, known as its Who’s Next edition. She was the only athlete in the United States selected for this honor, including all athletes in all sports, both professional and amateur.
USA Today selected only 10 Olympic athletes in all sports for a front-page feature story and photo shoot (in Greek togas), and Miranda was among those selected for these prestigious features. Miranda was also one of the few Olympic athletes interviewed and profiled by People magazine prior to the Games.
National Public Radio did an extensive interview with Miranda prior to the Olympic Games, discussing her career as well. Miranda appeared as an expert on women’s wrestling on the Dr. Phil Show, giving advice to a young female wrestler and her family. Sports Illustrated columnist Jack McCallum selected Miranda as his choice for Sportsperson of the Year for the national magazine. She was involved with photo shoots for Vogue magazine and Time magazine. Miranda also conducted interviews with many major daily newspapers, as well as national and local television stations.
She actively participated in all of the U.S. Olympic Team’s major media interviews, including an appearance on the NBC Today Show, in which she was interviewed on behalf of the team by Katie Couric and Matt Lauer. The entire U.S. Olympic women’s wrestling team were involved in a successful media tour in New York City prior to the Olympics, then handled considerable media requests throughout the Athens Olympic Games.
In addition to all of her coverage in the United States, Miranda was also a sports hero in Brazil, which was the homeland of her parents. During the Olympics, she conducted numerous interviews with Brazilian journalists, speaking in their native Portugeuse.
She was selected as a finalist for the Women’s Sports Foundation SportsWoman of the Year, one of 11 women athletes from across the world who were considered for this major honor.
Miranda, along with Olympic teammate Toccara Montgomery, rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange on September 13, to celebrate the first Olympic appearance for women wrestlers. That day, Miranda also spoke as part of “Up the Glass Ceiling,” a special breakfast for major corporate executives celebrating the progress of women in business, as well as the historic women’s Olympic wrestling team.
She has taken a leadership role in working for the development and expansion of women’s wrestling opportunities. In 2004, Miranda was elected to serve on USA Wrestling’s Board of Directors, a position she currently holds.
Miranda is also a two-time World silver medalist, and a 2003 Pan American Games gold medalist. She competed at Stanford Univ., where she earned degrees in economics and international policy. Miranda attended Saratoga High School in California, where she was also on the wrestling team.
After the Olympics, Miranda moved to Connecticut, where she started her first year as a student at the Yale Law School. She has since received the prestigious Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans from the Yale Law School. She is married to Levi Weikel-Magden, a college wrestling teammate and one of her coaches, who also attends law school.
PAST USA WRESTLING WOMAN OF THE YEAR WINNERS
2004 – Patricia Miranda
2003 – Kristie Marano
2002 – Pat Short
2001 – Paula McGahee
2000 – Sandy Stevens
1999 – Sue Siar
1998 – Nancy Schultz
1997 – Tricia Saunders
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