Unbeaten Yoshida loses to American Van Dusen in stunning upset

By Gary Abbott
USA Wrestling/Themat.com
gabbott@usawrestling.org

Is it possible for an international wrestler to complete a career undefeated? Is it possible for any wrestler to complete a career without a loss?

At the 2000 Olympics, the undefeated three-time Olympic champion Alexander Kareline was upset in the Olympic finals in Sydney, Australia by an unknown American farm boy named Rulon Gardner. That victory was the most important story from the Sydney Games, and thrust Rulon Gardner into celebrity status on the international scene.

What Kareline achieved in wrestling was amazing. Starting in 1985, when he won a gold medal at the Espoir World Championships held in Colorado Springs, Colo., Kareline won a gold medal in every international event he entered, winning every single match. This Siberian superman racked up three Olympic golds, nine World titles, 12 European championships and many other open international tournaments. Athletes feared to wrestle Kareline, some even rolling over for him rather than facing his amazing reverse lift throw.

Yet, even Alexander Kareline could be beaten. In fact, any wrestler can, and most probably will, get defeated if they stay in the sport very long.

This past week, within women’s freestyle wrestling, an upset victory that can be compared with the Kareline loss occurred. Again, a little known American named Marcie Van Dusen spoiled the attempt of Japanese superstar Saori Yoshida from completing her international career undefeated.

Yoshida came onto the international scene in 1998, winning a Cadet World title. Since then, she has won a gold medal in every international tournament she entered. Included was a 2004 Olympic gold medal, five World Championships, two Asian Games titles, three Asian Championships golds, two World University titles and four World Cup gold medals. According to the Japanese media, she had a 119 match victory streak on her record.

Yoshida was featured in a Sports Illustrated story in December talking about how it was her goal to win the Olympics in Beijing, China this summer and retire undefeated.

That all changed in Taiyuan, China, at the Women’s World Cup on January 19. Van Dusen, who was 10th in the 2007 World Championships in her only World appearance, defeated Yoshida 4-1, 2-2 in the dual meet between the USA and Japan. Van Dusen’s win helped the USA to upset Japan in that match.

This was big news in Japan, which takes a special pride in the success of its women’s wrestling program. Here in the USA, in both the general public and the wrestling community, the news has not gotten out there.

Yoshida’s over-confidence may have played a factor in her losing this match.

"It went wrong because I thought I could surely win and took it easy," Yoshida said to the wire service AFP. "The biggest shock is that I was beaten for the first time in an international meet."

Another reason that it happened is because Van Dusen believed that she could win the match. Just like Gardner before her, the American spirit in Van Dusen gave her the courage to beat an unbeatable foe.

“She’s a great opponent, but I expected to win,” Van Dusen said in an interview with USA Wrestling’s Elizabeth Wiley. “It is nice to know that everybody is beatable. It’s nice to have that in my pocket, to take it out and look at it. I also know there are a lot of tough international wrestlers out there, and I feel like I can take them on.”

Van Dusen grew up in California, where she was a successful age-group wrestler. After taking a little time away from the sport, she wrestled in college for a season. Her next move was to the U.S. Olympic Training Center, where she has been training and competing full-time. For a number of years, Van Dusen toiled behind two-time World silver medalist Tina George. She lost one season to a severe knee injury. Many believe that Van Dusen is coming into her own as an athlete now. But very few would have predicted that she was going to be THE ONE who beat Yoshida.

Consider some of the other famous wrestlers who pursued an undefeated career.

Everybody points at Cael Sanderson of Iowa State, and his undefeated four-time Div. I NCAA career as one of the biggest moments in college athletics. Cael’s amazing achievement caught the imagination of the nation, a feat that propelled wrestling into the headlines and Sanderson into sports history. However, many remember that Sanderson lost a match while a redshirt freshman in an open tournament.

Kareline, with all of his international gold medals and winning streak prior to the loss to Gardner, was not undefeated during his entire life. He had lost a match in Russia to 1987 World champion Igor Rostorosky.

Yoshida also had an unbeaten streak going against foreign competitors, but had a loss on her home soil to four-time World champion Seiko Yamamoto at a Japanese national championship in 2001.

American wrestling fans remember the long winning streak that Dan Gable had in high school and in college, before he was upset in his final college match against Larry Owings of Washington. Gable went on to win a World and Olympic gold, becoming a national wrestling hero along the way. Just in case you didn’t know, Gable lost some freestyle matches, too.

When wrestlers try to go undefeated, there is a target on them. Everybody wants to be the person to beat the unbeaten star. The pressure is on the wrestler who has never lost. All of the opponents have nothing to lose. In many cases, that pressure becomes too great and the undefeated wrestler slips up . At other times, an amazing performance by a worthy opponent is what breaks the winning streak.

Congratulations go out to Marcie Van Dusen for proving once again that anybody can be beaten, and for having the skill and confidence to do it.

Congratulations also go to Saori Yoshida, who like many other great wrestlers before her, tried to do something great under tremendous pressure.

Both of these amazing wrestlers deserve credit and applause.

Gary Abbott is the Director of Communications and Special Projects for USA Wrestling and is a founder of the National Wrestling Media Association and is a 2005 recipient of the NWCA Meritorious Service Award.

Gary Abbott