Adeline Gray is Changing how the World Sees Women’s Wrestling

Standout American female wrestler Adeline Gray has already broken a major gender stereotype, and now looks to win a gold medal in Rio.

In a little over a week, standout Olympic wrestler Adeline Gray will look to make US gambling news by becoming the USA’s first woman Olympic gold medalist. She has risen through the ranks and is now the favorite in the 75kg weight class. It will be no easy task, but if Gray has taught us anything, it’s not to underestimate her.

Adeline Gray began wrestling at the age of six. She was described as a “high energy” kid who enjoyed contact sports. Her early years of wrestling were not exactly easy though, as women’s wrestling was still considered taboo by most of her peers.

Gray would often be matched up with boys, who, in many cases, would forfeit before the match began. She understood. It can be seen as a lose-lose for a boy to wrestle a girl. Still though, it hurt her that she didn’t get the chance to compete as often as she wished.

“I understand that there’s peer pressure and there’s fear to look cool for your teammates and obviously nobody wants to lose. I’ve heard the rationale of why wrestling a girl is a lose-lose situation. But I just wish someone would’ve challenged [the guys] to just think about the bigger picture.” Gray told NBC.

She continued to wrestle throughout high school, and was eventually named the captain of the team. After women’s wrestling became an Olympic event in 2004, Gray realized she could accomplish her dream of competing on the biggest stage. She is now on a 38 match win-streak, and is the betting favorite to win gold in Rio.

Who will Adeline Gray be facing in Brazil?

Winning the gold medal at 75kg’s will be no easy task. She will be up against a number of tough wrestlers with a wealth of experience. One of the top prospects to challenge Gray for the gold is Belarusian Vasilisa Marzaliuk with current odds of +500 according to Bovada. Marzaliuk won gold at the 2015 European Games, and recently picked up a bronze medal in the 2016 European Wrestling Championships.

Estonian wrestler Epp Mae has also gotten people talking after taking home a bronze medal at the 2015 World Championships. The former sumo wrestler has been training since 1998, and seems ready to take on all challengers. Her odds are listed at +600

There’s no denying that Adeline Gray is the talk of women’s wrestling right now. Her odds to win gold are listed at -125, and many are predicting she will walk through the competition. That remains to be seen, and we will need to wait until August 18th for her event to begin.

What do you think? Will Adeline Gray win gold in Brazil? Who are her toughest challengers? Leave your comments below, and make sure to check out GamingZion’s list of online sportsbooks in the US for a full list of the best websites to bet on the Olympics!