Miranda will not have to wrestle any men when she travels to Santo Domingo for the Pan American Games Aug. 5 and 6. Instead, she joins Tina George and Toccara Montgomery as the female wrestlers who will represent the United States in the first-ever women's freestyle wrestling competition at the Pan American Games.

Miranda—a silver medalist in the 2000 women's wrestling world championships—has her sights set on continuing her dominance in the growing sport of women's wrestling at the Pan American Games but is ultimately looking toward the 2004 summer Olympics. It is there in Athens, Greece that women's freestyle wrestling will make its debut at the Olympics.

"The opportunity to compete in the Olympics is something I treasure," said Miranda in a conference call. "I'm looking forward to saying that the United States received the first-ever gold medal in women's wrestling."

Miranda's desire to compete in the Olympics has even caused her to ask for a two-year deferment after getting accepted into Yale Law School.

Though the decision may come as a surprise to some, Miranda's actions have been anything but predictable since her childhood.

In eighth grade, Miranda chose to join the boys wrestling team because there was no girls team. She soon took the initiative to call Saratoga High School's wrestling coach, Lloyd Asato, and ask if she could train with the boys team the summer before her freshman year.

After earning Asato's approval, Miranda then had to receive her father's permission to wrestle. It took awhile to convince him that wrestling would not detract from her academics, but the two eventually arrived at an understanding.

"I didn't have a positive reaction to it at first," said Jose Miranda. "So we made a deal—she can wrestle if she keeps an 'A' average. And she has kept that bargain at Saratoga and Stanford."

Miranda quickly gained respect while at Saratoga and captained the team her junior and senior years. Meanwhile, her father was beginning to come around to the idea of letting his teenage daughter wrestle boys.

"I wanted her to date a boy rather than get beaten by one," Jose said. "But it is an advantage in any sport when you practice with someone much better than you."

This was particularly the case when Miranda joined the Stanford men's team her freshman year. At 5 feet and less than 120 pounds, Miranda was much smaller than her male counterparts. Nevertheless, being the weakest competitor helped strengthen Miranda's physical and mental strength.

"I learned impeccable positioning," said Miranda. "You must have your back straight, head up and neck straight because otherwise a big guy is going to squash you. I also developed an emotional endurance because I'd spend three hours getting killed in practice."

"She has a good attitude toward defeat," Jose said. "She'll bend in the wind and then try another way. That's her greatest strength."

Miranda spent several years getting drilled in practice only to see no playing time in matches, but she stuck with it and finally received her opportunity to wrestle as a 125-pounder her senior year. She went 1-7 in the league season and was never pinned in any of her defeats.

"It took me four years before I won my first match," Miranda said. "To win was very character-defining."

It wasn't until after her senior season at Stanford that Miranda began to explore what level she could take her wrestling career to next.

"My goals were always smaller," said Miranda. "I didn't set my sights on winning the Olympics. I always tried to concentrate on the next match and think about how to score the next take-down."

But with the right timing of women's wrestling just getting introduced to the Olympics and being in the right place coming out of Stanford with a bundle of experience, Miranda knew she lucked out with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity awaiting her.

And though Jose would love for his daughter to continue her academic studies, he knows the time is right to let her put aside school for her chance to go to Athens.

"There are hundreds of lawyers that come from Yale every year," said Jose. "But there aren't many people who can be Olympic athletes."

It's quite a contrast from the wary father who didn't want his daughter to join the boys wrestling team at Saratoga. But perhaps it shows how far Miranda and her father have progressed over the past eight years.

"It took good timing and my father being supportive to get here," Miranda said. "It's a struggle not to reflect too much because that brings complacency, but I know I am one of the luckiest people walking around on this earth."