Alexander Leipold of Germany, a 1994 World freestyle wrestling champion, continues his medical improvement after suffering from a series of strokes last week.    Leipold's initial medical problem occurred when he was in Uzbekistan, training for the upcoming World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling in New York City, Sept. 12-14.    USA Wrestling has received information concerning Leipold from a number of sources, including the German media, his friends and members of the German wrestling community.    A report from the German webpage Sport1 Mehsport on Monday indicated that Leipold's condition has "considerably improved." According to the report, Leipold was moved from an intensive care unit in the hospital in Wurzburg and transferred to a  regular hospital room.    Below is a translation of a quote in the article, attributed to Helmuth Pauli from the German Wrestling Federation:    "Alexander recovered astonishingly well.  He can already write E-MAILS again.  He is hardly yet impaired. It becomes from day to day better", said Helmuth Pauli, president of the German of wrestler alliance (DRB) on Monday.    Jim Birk, an American who is close friends with Leipold and his family, reported information to USA Wrestling that he received from Leipold's wife. Birk has written a book about Leipold, and continues a close relationship with the family.    Birk's email to USA Wrestling included the following information:    "Leipold returned from Uzbekistan, where he was training for the World   Championships, on August 3  because of numbness in his arms and legs. In a hospital in Frankfurt they found out that he had a stroke but Leipold was confident to get out of the hospital by August 9. But in the night before, he had two more strokes which were worse. He has now signs of paralysis in both arms and legs and his language center suffered, too. His speech has improved somewhat.  He was listed in precarious condition.  Improvement in walking, if it comes, will only come slowly.  Cause of strokes is not known," wrote Birk.    Stephanie Gross, a member of the German national team, also shared information on Leipold's condition with users of TheMatForums.com, the bulletin boards of TheMat.com.    "They still don't know what caused the strokes. Alexander is feeling a little better, but he is given lots of medicines and he is still very weak. He shows still signs of paralysis and has problems speaking. Except his family, nobody is allowed to see him," posted Gross.    Those who wish to contact Leipold with messages of support and encouragement are asked to do so.    There are two ways to reach Leipold.    Birk suggests sending an e-mail to Leipold's wife Juliana at:  MARXJULI@aol.com    Gross indicated that many people are posting messages to Leipold in the vistorsbook on his webpage, and that these are being printed off and delived to him. To contact him through the web page, visit:  www.alexander-leipold.de    In regards to Leipold's recovery, many of the reports are optimistic that he may be able to live a "normal life."    In one of the German publications, the following quote was attributed to Helmuth Pauli of the German wrestling federation.    "If there is no further impact, the chances stand well that Alexander can again lead a normal life," Pauli told the German media.    Pauli said that the chance that Leipold may return to the mat is improbable.     "That is at present no topic. He must see that he becomes again fit for everyday life."    In her posting on TheMat.com Forums, Gross also notes that a return to wrestling is unlikely.    "It is very unlikely that he will be able to continue to wrestle, which is of course much less important than his health. The end of his career will be very hard to come to terms with for himself and the German wrestling community," she wrote.    Wrestling fans may remember that Leipold claimed a gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, defeating American Brandon Slay in the gold-medal finals. The medal was stripped from Leipold after the IOC announced that he had tested positive for the steroid Nandralone. Slay was awarded the gold medal in a ceremony conducted on the NBC News Today Show. Leipold has insisted that he never took any banned substances and that his positive drug test was in error. He received a two year ban from wrestling, which was reduced to one year when he took his case to the world court for sports.    Leipold has competed in the United States many times, winning the World Cup gold medal three straight years when the event was held here (1997-99). In addition to his 1994 World title, he has won three World silver medals, and was fifth in the 1996 Olympic Games.