Japan's Chiharu Icho, blue, wrestles Kim Hyung Joo of South Korea for the gold medal in the women's freestyle 48kg competition at the 2006 Asian Games. (Rabih Moghrabi/AFP/Getty Images)

Name	Chiharu Icho
Country	Japan
Credentials	Back-to-back world champion, Icho won silver at the 2004 Olympic Games. She beat the Olympic champion in the 2007 world championship final.

Name	Xueceng Ren
Country	China
Credentials	World champion in 2005, Ren won silver at the 2006 and 2007 worlds (in 2007 at the 51 kg weight class). She finished second at the 2008 Asian championships, behind Japan’s Chiharu Icho.

Name	Irini Merlini
Country	Ukraine
Credentials	Olympic gold medallist in 2004, Merlini is a three-time world champion. She placed second at the worlds in 2005 and 2007.

On a roll

Chiharu Icho. The Japanese wrestler has won the last two world championships and is expected to continue her dominance in Beijing. She won silver in Athens four years ago and has since defeated the three-time world champion who beat her in that gold medal match.

On a slide

Mongolia’s Enkhjargal Tsogbazar. After winning two major championships in 2006, Tsogbazar hasn’t been on the radar in major international competitions. She didn’t compete at the 2006 or 2007 worlds. Her best result recently was bronze at the 2008 Asian championships.

The X-factor

The random draw. Wrestling doesn’t seed athletes based on rankings or past results to determine the draw at major tournaments, including the Olympics Games. “It’s based on luck,” says CBC wrestling analyst, Chris Wilson. “Every now and then you get people who were first and second in the world championships the year before wrestling each other in the first round of the tournament.”

There is some provision for the best to remain in contention, Wilson says. “If the person you lost to in the first round makes the final, and you continue to win your matches, you’re able to go on and continue.”

The nature of the draw means weaker wrestlers are able to work their way to the top if their half of the draw is lesser-skilled and all the world champions are battling it out on the other side. “It happens all the time,” says Wilson. “The draw is such a factor, so there’s very little room for error. It has a major impact on how you might finish.”

Under the radar

American Clarissa Chun. She beat Athens bronze medallist Patricia Miranda in the American trials this year and is a veteran on the wrestling scene who will be going to her first Olympic Games. Chun won gold at the 2008 Pan American championships and a good draw in Beijing could see her in contention.

The Canadians

Carol Huynh. The 27-year-old Hazelton, B.C., native is the most experienced wrestler on the Canadian team. “She has a legitimate shot at a medal,” says Wilson. “She’s won medals at the world championships over the years, and has been at the international level for probably 10 years now. She’s really, really solid.”

The gold medallist at the 2001 worlds and bronze medallist in 2005, Huynh has placed 5th the last two years. “Assuming she gets a decent draw, she should be able to win a medal,” says Wilson. “If she deals with the pressure, she'll place well.”

The lowdown

The random draw makes a wrestling tournament difficult to predict, but two women stand out in this class: Japan’s Icho and the Ukraine’s Merlini.

“The Japanese wrestler has been a star for a long time and has a ton of experience, a ton of success,” says Wilson. Same goes for Merlini, who won the 2001 and 2003 world championships and went on to win gold in Athens, the first Olympics to include women’s wrestling.

The draw will determine if these women meet again in the final in Beijing, a battle Merlini won four years ago.

Other women to watch out for include bronze medallist at last year’s world’s, Maryelis Caripa of Venezuela, and Canada’s Huynh. The Russians are strong in this weight class, as is hometown favourite Xueceng Ren of China, the 2005 world champion.

Wilson says because wrestling isn’t a mainstream sport, especially in North America, the pressure to compete at the Games will play a role in Beijing.

“The Olympics is their time to shine, and it’s ten times the amount of pressure you’ve ever had in any other competition, because everyone is watching. Whoever can deal with that pressure the best is going to do well.”