Wrestlers · Career complete
Clarissa Chun
Hawaii's first girls' state champion (98 pounds, 1998); 2008 World champion and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist; first head coach of Iowa women's wrestling
Honolulu, HI · Roosevelt HS · Missouri Valley College
By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 3, 2026
Clarissa Chun grew up in judo and did not try wrestling until her junior year at Roosevelt High School in Honolulu. That season, 1997-98, Hawaii became the first state to sanction a girls' state tournament. Chun reached the 98-pound final, wrestled the first girls' final in state history, and won it. In 1999 she repeated at 98 pounds.
She signed with Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Missouri, and made the 2000 U.S. World Team while still a student there. She wrestled at 48 kg, the lightest international weight, since freestyle uses kilograms instead of pounds. She placed fifth at the 2001 Junior World Championships.
At the 2004 Olympic Team Trials she lost the 48 kg final series to Patricia Miranda of Stanford, 6-3 and 10-0. Four years later in Las Vegas she swept Miranda in two matches to make the 2008 Olympic team. In Beijing she lost the bronze-medal match to Irini Merleni of Ukraine and placed fifth. Two months later in Tokyo she won the World Championship at 48 kg, beating Jyldyz Eshimova of Kazakhstan 1-0, 1-0 in the final.
She won silver at the 2011 Pan American Games. At the 2012 Olympic Trials in Iowa City she beat Alyssa Lampe two matches to one and became the first American woman to make two Olympic teams. In London she pinned Iwona Matkowska of Poland in the repechage, then beat Merleni 1-0, 3-0 for the bronze medal. She placed third at the 2016 Olympic Trials.
Chun coached on the U.S. women's national staff from 2017 to 2021. On November 18, 2021, Iowa named her the first head coach of its women's program. The Hawkeyes won NCWWC team titles in 2024 and 2025 and finished second at the first NCAA championship in 2026.
She remains the head coach at Iowa and joined the U.S. women's freestyle coaching staff for the 2026 U20 World Championships in Bratislava.
She is the head coach of the University of Iowa women's wrestling team, signed a contract extension in May 2026, and joined the U.S. women's freestyle coaching staff for the 2026 U20 World Championships.
Results
| Season | Level | Event | Weight | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-98 | High school | Hawaii (HHSAA) State Championships | 98 lb | 1st | First sanctioned girls' state tournament in the U.S.; def. Ayumi Kawaguchi (McKinley) in the first girls' final in state history |
| 1998-99 | High school | Hawaii (HHSAA) State Championships | 98 lb | 1st | Def. Charise Kekawa (Aiea); Hawaii's first two-time girls' champion |
| 2001 | Age group | Junior World Championships | 5th | Eighth at the 2000 Junior Worlds; 2000-01 FILA Junior Nationals champion | |
| 2004 | Senior | U.S. Olympic Team Trials | 48 kg | 2nd | Lost the final series to Patricia Miranda, 6-3 and 10-0 |
| 2008 | Senior | U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Las Vegas | 48 kg | 1st | Swept 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Patricia Miranda 2-0 in the series after placing fourth at U.S. Nationals; first wrestler from Hawaii on a U.S. Olympic team |
| 2008 | Senior | Olympic Games, Beijing | 48 kg | 5th | Aug. 16, 2008; dec. Sofia Mattsson (Sweden); lost the bronze-medal match to Irini Merleni (Ukraine) by fall (Olympedia) |
| 2008 | Senior | World Championships, Tokyo | 48 kg | 1st | 4-0. Oct. 12, 2008; falls over Kaya Demet (Turkey) and Pei-Ching Tsai (Taipei), def. Makiko Sakamoto (Japan) in the semifinal, def. Jyldyz Eshimova-Turtbayeva (Kazakhstan) 1-0, 1-0 in the final; fifth American woman to win a World title |
| 2011 | Senior | Pan American Games, Guadalajara | 48 kg | 2nd | |
| 2012 | Senior | U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Iowa City | 48 kg | 1st | April 22, 2012; def. Alyssa Lampe 2 matches to 1 (0-2, 1-0, 3-1; 0-7, 2-2, 5-2; 2-0, 2-2, 4-1); first U.S. woman to make two Olympic teams |
| 2012 | Senior | Olympic Games, London | 48 kg | 3rd | Aug. 8, 2012; def. Shasha Zhao (China) 5-0, 1-0; lost to Mariya Stadnik (Azerbaijan) 0-2, 0-3; pinned Iwona Matkowska (Poland) in repechage; def. Irini Merleni (Ukraine) 1-0, 3-0 for bronze |
| 2016 | Senior | U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Iowa City | 48 kg | 3rd | Kept her Senior National Team spot; Haley Augello won the weight |
What we could not confirm
Anything not on this page, a high school record, a final score, a season, was left out because no primary source stated it when this was written. If you have a bracket, a program, or a clipping, send it and the page gets the number.
Sources
- https://www.themat.com/news/2017/february/14/clarissa-chun-is-first-state-high-school-champion-in-hawaii · Judo background; started wrestling as a junior at Roosevelt (Honolulu); 1998 first sanctioned girls' state tournament, 98 lb final was the first girls' final; repeated as a senior; signed with Missouri Valley College in Marshall, MO; 5th at 2008 Olympics; 2008 World gold; 2012 Olympic bronze; third at 2016 Olympic Trials and stayed on the Senior National Team
- https://www.hawaiiprepworld.com/wrestling/girls-wrestling-all-time-state-placers/ · All-time placer table: 1998 98 lb champion over Ayumi Kawaguchi (McKinley); 1999 98 lb champion over Charise Kekawa (Aiea)
- https://nwhof.org/hall_of_fame/bio/15383 · Born Aug. 27, 1981; 2008 World champion; 2012 Olympic bronze; 4x U.S. Open champion; five World Championships and two Olympics; 5th in 2008 as first Hawaii Olympian; 4x Pan Am Championships gold; 2011 Pan Am Games silver; 3rd at 1999 USGWA HS Nationals; 2x University Nationals champion; 4th at 2004 University Worlds; 5th at 2001 Junior Worlds, 8th in 2000; USA Wrestling assistant coach 2017-21; 2018 Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame; 2022 Distinguished Member
- https://hawkeyesports.com/sports/womens-wrestling/roster/season/2026-27/staff/clarissa-chun · Named Iowa head coach Nov. 18, 2021; 2023-24: 16-0, NWCA National Duals and NCWWC team titles, six champions, 12 All-Americans; 2024-25: 19-0, back-to-back NWCA Duals and NCWWC titles, three champions, all 15 qualifiers All-Americans; 5th at 2008 Olympics; five Senior Worlds (2000, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012); 2011 Pan Am Games silver; four Pan Am Championships golds; Missouri Valley College; USA Wrestling assistant 2017-21
- https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/12427292-historic-best-of-three-results-from-the-olympic-trials · 2004 Olympic Trials: Miranda over Chun 2-0 (6-3, 10-0); 2008: Chun over Miranda 2-0 (4-0, 0-6, 3-1; 1-0, 3-1); 2012: Chun over Lampe 2-1
- https://www.themat.com/news/2008/june/18/chun-stuns-miranda-on-night-of-18918 · 2008 Olympic Trials at UNLV Thomas and Mack Center: swept Patricia Miranda at 48 kg after placing 4th at U.S. Nationals; Sunkist Kids
- https://www.themat.com/news/2008/november/04/world-champion--american-clari-19614 · 2008 World Championships, Tokyo, Oct. 12, 2008: 48 kg gold, four wins including falls over Demet and Tsai, semifinal over Makiko Sakamoto, final 1-0, 1-0 over Eshimova-Turtbayeva; fifth American woman World champion; fourth at 2007 World Team Trials; coach Keith Wilson
- https://www.themat.com/news/2012/april/22/olympic-trials-come-to-excitin-25020 · 2012 Olympic Trials, Iowa City, April 22, 2012: def. Alyssa Lampe 2 matches to 1 with period scores; first U.S. woman to make two Olympic teams
- https://www.themat.com/news/2012/august/08/clarissa-chun-still-alive--nee-25417 · 2012 Olympics: def. Shasha Zhou 5-0, 1-0; lost to Stadnyk 2-0, 3-0; Merleni beat Chun for bronze at the 2008 Olympics; Chun placed 5th in 2008
- https://www.win-magazine.com/2012-olympics-coverage/womens-freestyle-tournament/clarissa-chun-uses-judo-move-to-clinch-americas-first-medal-in-london/ · 2012 Olympic bronze: def. Irini Merleni 1-0, 3-0 with an arm throw; pinned Iwona Matkowska in repechage with 36 seconds left; lost to Stadnyk 0-2, 0-3; beat Zhao 5-0, 1-0
- https://www.kingtornado.com/story.aspx?filename=4_10_2016_6115&file_date=4/10/2016 · 2016 Olympic Trials 48 kg won by Haley Augello over Victoria Anthony in Iowa City
- https://hawkeyesports.com/news/2026/03/8/solorio-blades-and-welker-claim-ncaa-titles · 2026 NCAA Women's Wrestling Championships, Coralville: Iowa 2nd with 166 points behind McKendree 171; champions Solorio (103), Blades (160), Welker (180)
- https://hawkeyesports.com/news/2026/08/12/chun-named-womens-freestyle-coach-at-u20-world-championships · Chun named a USA Wrestling women's freestyle coach for the 2026 U20 World Championships in Bratislava, Aug. 16-23, 2026
- https://hawkfanatic.com/2026/05/29/iowa-womens-wrestling-coach-clarissa-chun-receives-contract-extension/ · Contract extension at Iowa, May 29, 2026
- https://www.olympedia.org/results/263453 · 2008 Olympics 48 kg, Aug. 16, 2008: Chun tied 5th; decision over Sofia Mattsson (Sweden); Merleni-Mykulchyn (Ukraine) bronze; Huynh gold over Icho
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