This story originally ran in the November issue of USA Wrestler magazine

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Kristie Marano admits she hasn't seen much of the record nine medals she's won from her nine trips to the World Championships.

Shortly after returning home following her second-place finish at the 2007 World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, Marano's silver medal wound up in familiar, and good, hands.

"My mom confiscates all my medals - I only get to see them for a brief period," Marano said with a laugh. "My mom has them all framed and displayed at their house back in New York."

The 28-year-old Marano, a two-time World champion, has ascended to legendary status with all the medals she's won in women's freestyle wrestling. She tied freestyle legend Bruce Baumgartner's American wrestling record of nine World medals.

But even with her impressive medal collection and a resume filled with glowing achievements, Marano already has shifted her focus to her next big goal.

She is taking aim at winning a gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. She fell just short of qualifying for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.

"Competing in the Olympics is a goal I've had since I was five years old," she said. "Reaching that goal would pretty much complete me. It would complete everything I've worked for over the last 23 years."

Marano placed second to Toccara Montgomery at the 2004 Olympic Team Trials at 158.5 pounds. Marano did make the trip to the 2004 Olympics in Athens as a training partner for Montgomery. Women's wrestling made its Olympic debut in 2004. Marano narrowly missed making weight at 138.75 lbs. at the 2004 Trials before moving up to 158.5.

"What happened in 2004 definitely is a motivator for me," said Marano, who now competes at 158.5 pounds. "It was heartbreaking, not making the Olympic Team. But when I was asked to go to the Olympics as a training partner, I just tried to put what happened behind me and help our team get ready for the Olympics. It was an honor being part of the Games and it was a great experience. And it gave me even more motivation to be on the next Olympic Team."

Marano, whose 9-year-old daughter Kayla just started competing in wrestling this year, said she is not sure how long she will compete.

"I will take it year-by-year after 2008," she said. "It's hard to even think about the end of my career right now. I know I will really miss the competition when I am done."

Marano has been right in the middle of the growth of women's wrestling, not only in this country but on the international level as well. The numbers of participants and the skill level for women's freestyle has improved significantly over the past decade.

"I'm very proud of women's wrestling and where it's gone," Marano said. "It's great to see how far we've come, and hopefully it will continue to grow."

Marano owns two gold medals from the World Championships, along with five silver medals and two bronze medals. She's an unthinkable 9-for-9 in winning medals at the World Championships.

So what's her secret?

"I'm not really sure what it is," Marano said with a laugh. "I really, really, really love to compete, that's basically what it comes down to. I really push myself to do my best, no matter what tournament I'm competing in. I want our sport to get more recognition and I put a lot of pressure on myself to win. I just love to compete - that's why I'm still doing this."

The nine medals she's won in World competition, including a silver and bronze in the past two years, is something Marano admits she hasn't thought much about.

"Nine medals, it definitely is a huge accomplishment," she said. "One day, it will be really nice to look back on what I've done. But I need to live in the present, and I'm always looking forward. That's just my personality."

USA Wrestling National Women's Coach Terry Steiner can't say enough about what Marano has achieved.

"Nine medals - that just speaks for itself," Steiner said. "To be in this fire nine times and win nine medals is pretty amazing. The level of wrestling is improving, no doubt about it, and for her to continue to succeed at this level is very impressive."

Being a World class athlete is something Marano said has opened a lot of doors for her.

"It's been great," she said. "I've been to a lot of places I never thought I would ever be and I've traveled all around the World. I've had some great experiences - it's been pretty amazing. The best part of being on the team has been all the friendships I've made."

Sharing her wrestling accomplishments with her family means a great deal to Marano.

"I know my family is really proud of me, and that means a lot," she said. "My daughter, my mom, my dad, my brothers, my entire family has been so supportive. Without their help and without their support, I wouldn't be able to do this. My family means absolutely everything to me. I love making them proud."

KRISTIE MARANO'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MEDALS

1996 Sofia, Bulgaria - Silver
1997 Clermont-Ferrand, France - Silver
1998 Poznan, Poland - Silver
1999 Boden, Sweden - Silver
2000 Sofia, Bulgaria - Gold
2002 Halkida, Greece - Bronze
2003 New York, N.Y. - Gold
2006 Guangzhou, China - Bronze
2007 Baku, Azerbaijan - Silver