Steiner has high hopes for U.S. women wrestlers

The math is simple for Terry Steiner.

The head coach for the U.S. Women's Olympic wrestling team and former University of Iowa national champion said he possesses hopes of a 4-for-4 performance.

"Our goal is simple," Steiner said in a pre-Olympics press conference Thursday in London. "We came here with four athletes and we'd like to leave her with four medals."

The U.S. Women's Olympic wrestling team will compete in four of six weight classes of the 2012 Olympic Games in London Aug. 8-9. They will travel to France to train, returning to England for competition.

The team was determined in April at the USA Wrestling Olympic wrestling team trials at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Clarissa Chun (48 kilograms), Kelsey Campbell (55 kg), Elena Pirozhkova (63 kg) and Ali Bernard (72 kg) will represent the United States.

"I think we have the athletes that can perform, that have performed, at a high level at World Championships," Steiner said. "We have two former Olympians that have been on this stage before and were in bronze medal matches in 2008, so we're very capable at performing at a high level."

Chun and Bernard competed at the Olympic Games in Beijing. Chun, a native of Hawaii, is one of only five U.S. women to win a World Championship. She said she fed off the crowd's energy in 2008, and will need to do the same to fight for every point.

"When I go out there, just wrestle my best," Chun said about earning a medal during the press conference. "I guess, have no regrets when I step off that mat."

Bernard didn't win the spot in Iowa City, but claimed it when Stephany Lee was kicked off the team for testing positive for a drug test. The 26-year-old continued to wrestle after the previous Olympics for this moment. She plans to take full advantage.

"It's a gift, a second chance," Bernard said at the media event. "I'm not going to let it slip through my fingers this time."

Bernard earned a bronze medal at the 2011 World Championship, pinning a former Olympic champion. After success at the junior and university level, that tournament was a key moment on the senior level.

"That was the breaking (out) point," Bernard said. "I realized I could do this. I know now I'm a top contender. It's really given me confidence coming into these games."

Steiner also discussed the progress women's wrestling has made in the 10 years he has been USA Women's National team coach - the only one in the team's history. The landscape has changed since the program started in 2002, focusing primarily on preparing the 20 wrestlers for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.

"The attitude toward women's wrestling is a lot more open and changing more (for the) positive," Steiner said. "When I started it was a sport within a sport that wasn't generally accepted even within its own sport."

Steiner said women's wrestling has made strides but has a long way to go. College programs have grown from five in 2002 to 21 now. The number of states with sanctioned high school wrestling for girls has grown from two to six.

"It's growing fast," Steiner said. "Never fast enough."