Elena Pirozhkova

Born in Russia in 1986, wrestler Elena Pirozhkova is the top-ranked American female grappler in the 63-kilogram weight class. She joined her first wrestling team in the seventh grade, wrestling primarily against boys. Since then she has gone on to win, among her many prizes, the World Wrestling Championships silver medal in 2010, the gold medal in 2012, and the bronze medal in 2013. She is also part of the women's U.S. Olympic team and was the U.S. Olympic Team Trials champion in 2012. Updated 2014