Tela O'Donnell

Tela O'Donnell (born July 16, 1982 in Homer, Alaska) is a retired amateur American freestyle wrestler, who competed in the women's lightweight category.[1] She picked up the 2003 U.S. national runner-up trophy in her respective division, and later represented the United States team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, finishing sixth in the process. Throughout her sporting career, O'Donnell served full-time as a member of Dave Schultz Wrestling Club, and also became a resident athlete for the development program at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.[2]

Tela O'Donnell
Personal information
Full nameTela O'Donnell
Nationality United States
Born (1982-07-16) July 16, 1982
Homer, Alaska, United States
Height1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Weight55 kg (121 lb)
Sport
SportWrestling
StyleFreestyle
ClubDave Schultz Wrestling Club
College teamPacific University
CoachTerry Steiner

Career

Early years

O'Donnell began her sporting career at Homer High School in Alaska, where she lettered in football and volleyball. In her junior season, she officially joined the high school wrestling team under her coach Pat Daigle (Maine state champ) and assistant coach Jesse Caraway went on to set her own record as the second female wrestler to place in the state wrestling tournament. After graduating from high school in 2001, O'Donnell enrolled at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon, where she competed on the women's wrestling team for an annual season.[3][4]

In 2003, O'Donnell was selected to enter the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she had turned her sights to the women's wrestling squad under head coach Terry Steiner. Additionally, she attended classes part-time at the University of Colorado, taking up a bachelor of science degree in psychology.[5]

Freestyle wrestling

O'Donnell blossomed her sporting career with a 121-pound title at the Women's University Championships in St. Joseph, Missouri. She sought her sights to compete for the U.S. world wrestling squad, but missed a chance to grab a spot after her startling defeat from Tina George at the national trials.[6][7]

O'Donnell entered the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens on her major international debut in the women's 55 kg class. Earlier in the process, she grappled her way to pin and upset her longtime nemesis and two-time World silver medalist Tina George from the Olympic Trials, which guaranteed her a spot on the first ever U.S. women's wrestling squad.[7][8][9] In the prelim pool, O'Donnell opened her match by pinning Russia's Olga Smirnova with less than two minutes left, but fell short behind Canada's Tonya Verbeek by a ten-point superiority limit (1–11).[10] Despite missing a spot on the semifinals, O'Donnell seized her opportunity to compete against Puerto Rico's Mabel Fonseca in the classification round, but could not score enough points to grapple her opponent off the mat with a 7–10 decision. O'Donnell initially placed seventh in the final standings, but later upgraded to sixth, as Fonseca was disqualified from the tournament after being tested positive for stanozolol.[11][12]

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Tela O'Donnell". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  2. Hack, Damon (22 May 2004). "Olympics; For Women, Plenty of Firsts At Olympic Wrestling Trials". New York Times. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  3. Pearson, Sean (5 June 2003). "Homer wrestler tries to pin Olympic dreams". Homer News. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  4. Selbig, Aaron (17 January 2014). "Athletes, Students Remember Coach Steve Wolfe". KBBI. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  5. "Nikiski grad O'Donnell has eyes on Athens". Peninsula Clarion. 15 May 2003. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  6. Abbott, Gary (13 April 2003). "O'Donnell, Wong among stars to win titles at Women's University Nationals in St. Joseph, Minn". USA Wrestling. The Mat. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  7. Stuart, Ben (30 May 2004). "Being an Olympian still settling in for Homer's O'Donnell". Peninsula Clarion. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  8. Abbott, Gary (17 July 2004). "Olympic Games preview at 55 kg/121 lbs. in women's freestyle". USA Wrestling. The Mat. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  9. Borzilleri, Meri-Jo (1 August 2004). "A surprise from Alaska". Juneau Empire. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  10. Francis, Eric (23 August 2004). "Hopes pinned on Tonya". Calgary Sun. Canoe.ca. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  11. "Wrestling: Women's Freestyle 55kg". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  12. Woods, Mark (24 August 2004). "Alaska athletes hold their own in Athens". Juneau Empire. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
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