Elena Pirozhkova battles Olympic and World Champion Kaori Icho of Japan

Seven years ago, Elena Pirozhkova was a young and talented wrestler, fresh out of high school. She had the opportunity to train at the United States Olympic Training Center not knowing what to expect from her new move to Colorado Springs. Older, wiser and more experienced, she’s headed to the Olympics Games this summer.

“She went from someone who knows of wrestling to someone who knows wrestling,” said Women’s Assistant National Coach Izzy Izboinikov. “She knew very little about wrestling when she first came here. Now she knows a lot and that is due to the time and effort she has put in.”

Pirozhkova was born in Russia and moved with her family to the United States when she was three as the Soviet Union was breaking up. Her family ultimately settled in Greenfield, Mass., which is in the western part of the state. She didn’t seriously get involved in wrestling until high school when her older brother Viktor suggested she try it out. 

“When I told my dad I was joining the wrestling team he said, ‘OK, if the boys beat you up don’t come home crying because you signed up for it,’” Pirozhkova said. “I told him not to worry and my mom was fine with it too.

“I think in a big family you can’t be so protective over every kid and your parents allow you to make a lot of your own decisions and have a lot more freedom,” said Pirozhkova, the second oldest of her parent’s nine children. 

Although Pirozhkova first thought her brother meant the WWE style fighting, she quickly learned she would not be throwing chairs at the other wrestlers and embraced the sport despite her self-proclaimed ineptitude. 

“I was completely awkward and you would have looked at me and thought this is not a potential athlete here wrestling,” said Pirozhkova. “I think I stuck with it because I would get angry that my brother would tell me I was horrible and that I should quit. I wanted to prove him wrong.”

It is safe to say Pirozhkova has proved her brother wrong, winning the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in April at 63 kg/138.75 lbs.

Pirozhkova’s journey to the Olympics was set in motion when she won the USGWA National Championship in 2005. There, Pirozhkova was invited by Izboinikov to a Junior level training camp at the USOTC, and then asked to stay for the Senior level training camp.

“I was never really anyone’s pick to be recruited,” Pirozhkova said. “My senior year when I won at USGWA, that is when colleges started to get interested. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do and didn’t really want to move away. Then I met Izzy and I was invited to the Junior camp. After that camp and then the Senior camp, the coaches asked me if I wanted to move out here.  I never knew this place existed, and didn’t really know what this whole deal was about but I knew it was a good opportunity.”

Armed with only a few duffle bags of clothes, Pirozhkova moved to Colorado Springs a mere five months after graduating high school.  Knowing little about Colorado Springs and what she just go herself into, Pirozhkova sought out comfort in being able to bond with fellow Russian Izzy, including speaking in their native language. From there, the  relationship grew and has been a key component in her success. 

“He told me what to do and I listened,” Pirozhkova said. “But I think one of the biggest reasons our relationships grew was because I was young and didn’t know anyone and he kind of took me under his wing. If I had any questions I could ask him or just go talk to him. Our relationship grew from that I guess. He was there for wrestling and could be there for other things too,” Pirozhkova said. 

Pirozhkova and Izzy can be seen working together before, during and after training sessions, always trying to fine-tune things and striving to get better.
 
“There is no secret to an athlete’s success,” Izzy said. “It’s the amount of time put in and the ability to listen and follow instructions and have the discipline on and off the mat. The secret isn’t in the success, but in actually doing the things needed to be successful. I think Elena understood that early on. Everyone knows what it takes to win; the difference is in those that do it.” 

This year, Pirozhkova’s focus and hard work led her to the No. 1 seed at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, based upon winning the U.S. Open in December. She faced 2011 World bronze medalist Adeline Gray in the best-of-three finals.  Pirozhkova defeated Gray in two straight matches, securing her spot at the Games. 

“Going into the finals I was confident. You still get nerves because like any match you’re a headlock away from getting pinned and that’s happened to me before. The chances of it happening twice aren’t high but anything can happen,” said Pirozhkova. “The first match I was a little nervous because I hadn’t wrestled all day.”

Pirozhkova took the first match, 1-0, 4-0 and went on to win the second and final match 1-0, 3-1.

“I was confident after winning the first match. I was halfway there but I knew I couldn’t relax because I knew she would come out stronger and more aggressive and she did,” Pirozhkova said. “And then in the first period there was about a minute left, it was 0-0 and I thought back to practice situations where you’re down one and you must score. I was thinking if there was ever a time to score it was now.”

Knowing all the hard work and dedication that went into that victory, Izzy was able to enjoy Pirozhkova’s win for only a few moments and then it was time to move on. 

“Personally, as the coach I get a small gratification period, maybe two minutes and then it’s on to new and better things,” Izzy said. “I’m excited and pleased but not satisfied. We’ve got to look at the upcoming events like the World Cup and Olympics. Maybe after the Olympics I can extend it to four minutes.”

Pirozhkova is now presented with the task of potentially wrestling against the top 63 kg/138.75 women’s wrestler in Japan’s Kaori Icho. At the top of Icho’s long list of accomplishments sits two Olympic gold medals and seven gold medals at the World Championships. Icho defeated Pirozhkova in the finals of the 2010 World Championships in Moscow, Russia.
 
“That particular weight class is pretty even, with the one standout in Icho. She hasn’t lost in a long time,” Izzy said. “She’s in a different universe statistically in terms of wins and losses. That being said the rest of the field is close and we’re closing the gap. We’re training with her now at the USOTC, working with her, studying her. We’re looking for the upset.

Women’s Team USA was pleased when Icho asked if she could train with the Americans in Colorado Springs prior to the Olympics, and she has been at the Olympic Training Center this week participating in the workouts with the American athletes.

Like her coach, Pirozhkova is not deterred by the success of Icho and like the U.S. Team Trials, is confident in her abilities to make it to the medal stand. 

“I certainly expect to win and I think there are a lot of people who expect or at least really want me to win and they believe in me,” Pirozhkova said. “I think to get there, I need to be confident in what I do, and be confident in my technique and training, believing I can win. I know I’m not No. 1 on paper and there are a lot of girls that can beat me that I haven’t even wrestled but I believe in myself.”

On her path to being Olympian, Pirozhkova’s brother Viktor has been there for her the start and was there to watch her win at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. If everything works out financially Viktor and his seven siblings and their mother, along with some extended family plan on being in attendance. 

“They are all trying to go to London. I’ve been fundraising a lot for them and somebody has already vouched to pay for two people so that’s two down and there are a lot more to go. I’m trying to get them all there one way or another,” Pirozhkova said. “It’s a lifetime opportunity for me but also a lifetime opportunity for them too. I plan on wrestling another cycle and making another Olympic team but you never know what’s going to happen.”

The journey Pirozhkova began seven years ago hasn’t been an easy one. She’s had her share of wins and losses on and off the mat. Most recently, last year Pirozhkova lost her father to liver cirrhosis and has struggled at times to make college classes and wrestling work together efficiently. Currently, Pirozhkova is taking classes at Pikes Peak Community College and hopes to graduate next spring and would like to one day be a chiropractor. 

“Eventually I want to go to chiropractor school. I’ve always wanted to do something where I can help people increase their performance (athletically) through nutrition, supplements, massage, chiropractor, things hands on,” Pirozhkova said. 

Pirozhkova’s future endeavors will be put on hold for a little while longer as her focus is on the Olympics. 

Ever since Pirozhkova moved to the USOTC, she has soaked in the knowledge of her coaches and fellow wrestlers, bringing her to this point in her career, where she has an opportunity to win an Olympic medal. 

“What is unique about Elena is her ability to receive and give feedback. People say, ‘What could you guys possibly have to talk about after all the time?’” Izzy said. “Well, we’ve been talking about the same things for seven years. Things like ‘What’s going on? How are you doing?  What needs to be done?’ We’re constantly correcting and moving in the right direction. The communication between the coach and talking like that is so important to success.”