Chun gets long-awaited win over long-named nemesis

For Clarissa Chun, Olympic redemption is spelled like this: Iryna "Irini" Oleksiyivna Merleni-Mykulchyn.

If that seems like a lot of letters, well, Chun has had a lot of time to ponder the name and the lessons they inspired.

Four years to the month after Merleni pinned her for the bronze medal in Beijing, Chun defeated her Ukrainian nemesis 1-0, 3-0 in their best-of-three periods match on Wednesday to win the women’s 105.5-pound freestyle wrestling bronze in London.

And while winning a medal — the first by a U.S. wrestler, male or female, in these Games — was the main thing for the Roosevelt High graduate, then beating Merleni made it that much sweeter. "Yes, definitely," said a still-buoyant Chun hours after she had draped herself in an American flag and run around the ExCel North Arena.

"This time it was my time," Chun said, jubilantly sharing it with more than 30 family members and friends who had made the trip from Hawaii and many more who watched on TV.

In fact, she called her shot from Beijing, even if it seemed a distant one back on Aug. 16, 2008 when, amid the disappointment of the pin and fifth-place finish, Chun said, "I definitely think I can beat her next time."

Lessons learned and applied from that experience paid off Wednesday before a crowd of 6,500. Chun was no longer intimidated or without focus against the two-time Olympic medalist. This time, the 4-foot-11 Chun, who shared the distinction of being the shortest among the 530-member U.S. delegation with gymnast Gabby Douglas and diver Katie Bell, was not only up to the considerable challenge but relishing it.

"I was ready for whoever they put in front of me," Chun said.

Indeed, Chun looked past the blonde’s steely eyes and calculated shrieks to take care of business against Merleni, one of the sport’s legendary figures.

"She’ll scream, she’ll yell, she’ll try to intimidate from the time you shake hands (before the match)," Chun said. "This time I was ready for it. I believed in myself."

Mostly, however, it was a matter of Chun putting her own emotions in check and letting her well-honed instincts and training take over on the mat. In Beijing she was still rattled by the loss that eliminated her from gold-medal contention to focus sufficiently on what she needed to do to win the bronze.

This time she would not repeat the mistake. When she lost to Mariya Stadnyk of Azerbaijan, 2-0, 3-0, Chun came back to pin Iwona Matkowska of Poland in repechage. Then, Chun had to wait around for a couple of hours to see if Stadnyk would make the final, a result that would assure her a place in the bronze-medal match.

While she did, Chun pledged to contain her emotions and conserve her energy.

"(From Beijing) I learned never to get too high or too low, (but) to stay focused and have fun," Chun said. "Four years ago I was on an emotional roller coaster. I wasted too much energy. So, I learned that I have to manage my emotions after a loss."

This time, while Chun said she’d gone to London with gold in mind, she vowed not to leave empty-handed.

"I just knew that I wanted to go home with a medal this time," Chun said. "It sucked walking away without anything, (in Beijing) after all the days and hours you put into practice. I was gonna put it all out there."

She did and, not much longer than it took to say Iryna "Irini" Oleksiyivna Merleni-Mykulchyn, Chun was finally on the way to the medal stand.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.