Patricia Miranda has dominated U.S. competition over the course of the past two years. Now, the two-time World silver medalist has bigger goals.

Winning the U.S. National Championships put her one step closer to being a member of the first-ever women's Olympic wrestling team.

TheMat.com: Why do you feel you are able to dominate your U.S. competition the way you have the past couple of years?

Miranda: I feel that a lot of the success that I am experiencing today is the result of small goals that I've had along the way. Learning solid position in my stance, shots, or defense; developing a strong work ethic and owning technical knowledge of the sport was really important to my goals, especially in college. I'm lucky that the things that I've worked on and the habits that I've developed have translated into success on the mat for me today.

TheMat.com: Some newspapers have begun to refer to you as having the ability to do for women's wrestling what Mia Hamm did for women's soccer. Is that a fair assessment?

Miranda: I would be honored to help the development of women's wrestling like Mia did for soccer. It's not one of my explicit goals because there are a lot of factors in that equation that I can not control. I know that it is one of Terry Steiner's goals to come back from Athens with some heroes for the American public, and to the best of my ability I will do that by working as hard as I can for the honor of an Olympic gold.

TheMat.com: You have received a lot of media attention in the last year. How have you been able to juggle that with your training schedule?

Miranda: I have found that most interviewers and photographers are very accommodating and willing to work around my training schedule. USA wrestling also does a good job at funneling most media obligations away from big tournaments. I still feel flattered very time I get media attention, juggling has not been difficult.

TheMat.com: We still haven't seen a big increase in the numbers at your weight class. Do you expect more women to drop into the 105.5-pound category for the Olympic Trials?

Miranda: I expect that all of the non-Olympic weight class wrestlers will gravitate to an Olympic weight, so I do expect a few more to join 48 kgs.

TheMat.com: After the heartbreaking loss in the World finals last year, what did you begin to do to prepare for this year?

Miranda: It is still painful to think about the finals. I use that pain as motivation, mainly to place myself in challenging situations in which I need to perform. Being able to condense my skills and conditioning into a six-minute high-pressure match, where what I do in practice every day is translated into the match, immediately became a focus following the world finals.

TheMat.com: There is obviously a lot of pressure on any athlete working on making the Olympic Team. How much pressure do you feel, and also, how much pressure do you put on yourself to succeed?

Miranda: Almost all the pressure that I feel is internal. Success is important to any competitor, but I know that all I can control is what I do in the next 10 minutes, then the next 10. Because of that I welcome the challenge and opportunity of making my first Olympic team.

TheMat.com: When you were in college at Stanford, you were always competing against men. Now, you only compete against women, yet sometimes you bring in a man to work out with you in the wrestling room. Do you feel that training with a man can help prepare you for women's competition better, or doesn't it matter?

Miranda: Terry does bring in guys for me to train with in the wrestling room, but I  think it is more to provide different looks and challenges that I need to deal with in a match and less to do with gender. Guy or girl, if they have a certain style I need to work on, have an awesome leg attack, or just never give up a scramble, it's beneficial for me to train with them.

TheMat.com: Some wrestlers only compete in 10 matches per year, but over the past three years, you have competed in more international matches than any other U.S. athlete. Why?

Miranda: I've got a lot of ground to make up, lots of improvements to be made. I know that I learn especially well from competition, so I just set about getting better by placing myself there as much as I could.

TheMat.com: You have stated publicly in the past that you have never really followed sports. If that is true, then who has been your inspiration through this entire process of attempting to earn a spot on the Olympic wrestling team?

Miranda: Just because I didn't really follow sports, didn't mean that I wasn't inspired by people along the way. My parent's work ethic, the silent dignity of dying relatives, the guy the cut off his own arm to survive, etc... Common heroes like that really inspire me.

TheMat.com: When is the last time, if you can remember, you didn't think about winning an Olympic gold medal?

Miranda: It wasn't too long ago. In the heart of my college wrestling career, I never thought about the Olympics... I had other more immediate goals. Since moving to the training center, though, I think about it every day, except maybe on my yearly rafting trip.