Wrestlers · Career complete
Patricia Miranda
First American woman to win an Olympic wrestling medal, bronze in 2004; 3x World medalist; wrestled on Stanford's men's team
Saratoga, CA · Saratoga High School HS · Stanford University
By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 28, 2026
Patricia Miranda grew up in Saratoga, California. In 1990 she became the first girl to wrestle at Redwood Middle School. At Saratoga High School she was again the first girl, wrestling on the boys' team.
She wrestled for Stanford's men's team from 1997 to 2002 at 125 pounds and earned a varsity spot as a senior. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame calls her only the second woman in NCAA history to beat a male athlete in competition. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with an economics degree.
In women's freestyle she won silver at the 2000 World Championships at 51 kg, about 112 pounds. She placed 11th at the 2002 World Championships. At 48 kg she won the 2003 World Cup and the 2003 Pan American Games. In the 2003 World final, Iryna Merleni of Ukraine beat her 5-4.
Accepted to Yale Law School, she deferred to train for the 2004 Olympics, the first with women's wrestling. At the Olympic Trials in Indianapolis she beat fellow American Clarissa Chun 6-3 and 10-0 to make the first U.S. Olympic women's wrestling team.
In Athens she won her pool over Lorisa Oorzhak of Russia, Li Hui of China and Mayelis Caripa of Venezuela. Merleni beat her 9-0 in the semifinal. She beat Angelique Berthenet of France 12-4 for bronze, becoming the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in wrestling.
As a Yale law student she won bronze at 51 kg at the 2006 World Championships, beating Oleksandra Kohut of Ukraine. She won a second World Cup title in 2007 and received her law degree that year. At the 2008 Olympic Trials, Chun won their 48 kg final series.
After Stanford announced in July 2020 that it would cut wrestling, she co-chaired Keep Stanford Wrestling, the campaign that reversed the decision. In 2023 she became the fifth woman inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.
She is a licensed California attorney with the law firm Miranda, Magden & Miranda. Stanford's wrestling staff includes a coaching post named for her, the Patricia Miranda Assistant Wrestling Coach, and The Open Mat's Miranda Medal for the best women's college wrestler carries her name.
Results
| Season | Level | Event | Weight | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-2002 | College | Stanford men's varsity wrestling team | 125 lb | A member of Stanford's men's varsity team from 1997 to 2002 at 125 pounds. | |
| 2000 | Senior | World Championships | 51 kg | 2nd | Silver medal. |
| 2001 | Senior | National Open | 3rd | Listed by Stanford as third at the 2001 National Open. She was first alternate for the 2001 World Team. | |
| 2002 | Senior | World Championships | 48 kg | 11th | Her second Senior World Championships. |
| 2003 | Senior | World Cup | 48 kg | 1st | World Cup champion at 48 kg in October 2003. |
| 2003 | Senior | Pan American Games, Santo Domingo | 48 kg | 1st | Gold medal in women's freestyle at 48 kg. |
| 2003 | Senior | World Championships | 48 kg | 2nd | Lost the final to Iryna Merleni of Ukraine 5-4. |
| 2004 | Senior | Dave Schultz Memorial International | 1st | Won at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs in February 2004, beating opponents from Mexico, India and Canada, then Germany's 2002 world champion 3-1 in the final. Her second Dave Schultz title. | |
| 2004 | Senior | Olympic Trials, Indianapolis | 48 kg | 1st | 2-0. Beat Clarissa Chun 6-3 and 10-0 in the best-of-three final to make the first U.S. Olympic women's wrestling team. |
| 2004 | Senior | Olympic Games, Athens | 48 kg | 3rd | 4-1. Won Pool D over Lorisa Oorzhak of Russia 7-3, Li Hui of China 8-5 and Mayelis Caripa of Venezuela 11-1. Lost the semifinal to Iryna Merleni of Ukraine 9-0, then beat Angelique Berthenet of France 12-4 for bronze. |
| 2006 | Senior | World Championships, Guangzhou | 51 kg | 3rd | Lost the quarterfinal to Hitomi Sakamoto of Japan, then beat Oleksandra Kohut of Ukraine 1-0, 1-0 for bronze. |
| 2007 | Senior | World Cup | 51 kg | 1st | Her second World Cup gold, at 51 kg in March 2007. |
| 2008 | Senior | Olympic Trials, Las Vegas | 48 kg | 2nd | 0-2. Clarissa Chun won the best-of-three final 4-0, 0-6, 3-1 and 1-0, 3-1. |
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 to the operator, Joe Spisak, at joe@spisak.co and the page gets the number.
Sources
- https://nwhof.org/hall_of_fame/bio/15520 · National Wrestling Hall of Fame, 2023 Distinguished Member biography. The first American woman to win an Olympic medal in wrestling, with bronze in 2004. Four Senior World Championships with silver in 2000 and 2003 and bronze in 2006. Pan American Games and World Cup champion in 2003, World Cup gold again in 2007. Stanford men's varsity team 1997 to 2002 at 125 pounds. Deferred Yale Law School to train for 2004, law degree 2007. Partner at Miranda, Magden & Miranda LLP, specializing in immigration law. Co-chair of Keep Stanford Wrestling.
- https://www.themat.com/news/features/2023/june/01/distinguished-member-patricia-miranda · USA Wrestling, June 1, 2023. The Hall of Fame's Distinguished Member tribute, naming her a partner at Miranda, Magden & Miranda LLP and noting The Open Mat's Miranda Medal for the best women's college wrestler.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2020/september/17/history-lesson-patricia-miranda · USA Wrestling, September 17, 2020. She competed internationally at 48 kg and 51 kg, and her World and Olympic record reads silver in 2000, 11th in 2002, silver in 2003, Olympic bronze in 2004 and bronze in 2006. The first girl on her middle school and high school teams in California, she earned a Stanford varsity spot at 125 pounds as a senior. Stanford announced in July 2020 it was cutting wrestling.
- https://gostanford.com/news/2013/04/17/player-bio-patricia-miranda · Stanford Athletics player bio from her senior season. Hometown Saratoga, California, and Saratoga High School. Third at the 2001 National Open, first alternate on the 2001 World Team, and 2000 World silver medalist at 112 pounds.
- https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/OLYMPIC-QUEST-Patricia-Miranda-Going-to-the-2789204.php · San Francisco Chronicle, February 29, 2004. The first girl to wrestle at Redwood Middle School in Saratoga in 1990 and the first female wrestler at Saratoga High. Five years on the Stanford team with one win over a man. Her February 2004 Dave Schultz Memorial International title, her second.
- https://nwhof.org/national-wrestling-hall-of-fame/women-s-wrestling-experience · National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Women's Wrestling Experience timeline. The first U.S. Olympic women's freestyle team was created in Indianapolis in 2004 with Miranda at 48 kg. In 2023 she became the fifth woman inducted as a Distinguished Member.
- https://www.olympedia.org/results/134259 · Olympedia, 2004 Olympic women's 48 kg freestyle. Her pool wins over Lorisa Oorzhak, Li Hui and Mayelis Caripa, the 9-0 semifinal loss to Iryna Merleni, and the 12-4 bronze-medal win over Angelique Berthenet.
- https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/107538 · Olympedia athlete page. Olympic bronze in 2004, affiliation Dave Schultz Wrestling Club, and gold at 48 kg at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2006/september/06/2006-world-championships-previ-15091 · USA Wrestling, September 6, 2006. She was on the 2006 U.S. World Team at 51 kg. The 2003 World final result reads Irini Merleni of Ukraine over Patricia Miranda, 5-4.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2004/may/01/u-s--olympic-team-trials-previ-9807 · USA Wrestling, April 30, 2004. Olympic Trials preview naming her a two-time World silver medalist with Pan American Games and World Cup gold, holding off Yale Law School for the Olympic year.
- https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/12427292-historic-best-of-three-results-from-the-olympic-trials · FloWrestling, historic Olympic Trials best-of-three results. 2004 in Indianapolis, Miranda over Clarissa Chun 6-3 and 10-0. 2008 in Las Vegas, Chun over Miranda in two matches.
- https://ctwrestling.com/2006/09/yales-miranda-wins-bronze-at-world-championships/587/ · Connecticut Wrestling Online, September 30, 2006. As a Yale law student she won bronze at 51 kg at the World Championships in Guangzhou after a quarterfinal loss to Hitomi Sakamoto of Japan. It also notes she wrestled on the boys' team at Saratoga High School.
- https://apps.calbar.ca.gov/attorney/Licensee/Detail/276129 · State Bar of California attorney profile. Her law license is active, listed with Miranda, Magden & Miranda, LLP.
- https://gostanford.com/sports/wrestling/roster · Stanford Athletics 2026-27 wrestling roster. The coaching staff includes a post named for her, the Patricia Miranda Assistant Wrestling Coach, held by Patrick Brucki.
- https://whatsmat.uww.org/daten.php?spid=2E66364F125D4B408B6C286A71116912 · United World Wrestling database. Her international record by date, weight and place. It lists World silver at 51 kg in 2000, 11th at 48 kg in 2002, and World Cup gold at 48 kg in 2003 and at 51 kg in 2007. It also lists Dave Schultz Memorial titles in 2003 and 2004 and World bronze at 51 kg in 2006.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2007/september/11/2007-world-championships-previ-17128 · USA Wrestling, September 11, 2007. World Championships preview at 51 kg. Its 2006 results list Miranda's bronze and fifth place for Oleksandra Kohut of Ukraine. It adds that Miranda had finished law school and was training full-time at the Olympic Training Center.
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