Freestyle Wrestling: Leigh Jaynes Fails to Earn a Medal at the 2012 World Championships
Freestyle wrestler Leigh Jaynes characterized her 2012 World Championship performance in three words: Paralysis by analysis.
The 31-year-old wrestler lost her first-round match to Munkhtuya Tungalag of Mongolia in three periods (0-3, 1-0, 1-3). Jaynes, who competed in the 59-kilogram (130-pound) weight class, finished tenth overall.
Jaynes said the fact that she hadn't competed in a world championship tournament in five years played a factor in her performance in Strathcona County, Canada, on September 27.
"It's been five years, and I think I got really excited and I over-analyzed a lot of things," Jaynes said during an interview with USA Wrestling. "Sometimes it doesn't have to be rocket science, it just has to be something simple."
She added: "Paralysis by analysis is all I can (say to) sum it up. I just overanalyzed everything and I ended up just getting stuck, so that's the bottom line."
Because the wrestler she lost to did not qualify for the finals, Jaynes did get pulled back into the tournament, and she did not have an opportunity to wrestler for the bronze medal. Jaynes did not place in her 2007 World Championship appearance, according to her biography on Themat.com
Next, the New Jersey native said she plans to take some time off before returning to the mat. There's "a lot more wrestling in (her) future," she said, and she wants to take some time to create a solid plan for herself before the 2016 Olympic Games roll around.
"I'm proud of myself for as far as I've come," Jaynes said during the USA Wrestling interview. "… I just need to make sure I make a better game plan and think four years instead of one year at a time."
Read more from this author: About the Seven Women Who Qualified for the 2012 World Championship Team
Sandra Johnson is a longtime Olympic fan. While working for the United States Olympic Committee and living in the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., Johnson had the opportunity to immerse herself in the Olympic Movement. Follow her on Twitter: @SandraJohnson46
The 31-year-old wrestler lost her first-round match to Munkhtuya Tungalag of Mongolia in three periods (0-3, 1-0, 1-3). Jaynes, who competed in the 59-kilogram (130-pound) weight class, finished tenth overall.
Jaynes said the fact that she hadn't competed in a world championship tournament in five years played a factor in her performance in Strathcona County, Canada, on September 27.
"It's been five years, and I think I got really excited and I over-analyzed a lot of things," Jaynes said during an interview with USA Wrestling. "Sometimes it doesn't have to be rocket science, it just has to be something simple."
She added: "Paralysis by analysis is all I can (say to) sum it up. I just overanalyzed everything and I ended up just getting stuck, so that's the bottom line."
Because the wrestler she lost to did not qualify for the finals, Jaynes did get pulled back into the tournament, and she did not have an opportunity to wrestler for the bronze medal. Jaynes did not place in her 2007 World Championship appearance, according to her biography on Themat.com
Next, the New Jersey native said she plans to take some time off before returning to the mat. There's "a lot more wrestling in (her) future," she said, and she wants to take some time to create a solid plan for herself before the 2016 Olympic Games roll around.
"I'm proud of myself for as far as I've come," Jaynes said during the USA Wrestling interview. "… I just need to make sure I make a better game plan and think four years instead of one year at a time."
Read more from this author: About the Seven Women Who Qualified for the 2012 World Championship Team
Sandra Johnson is a longtime Olympic fan. While working for the United States Olympic Committee and living in the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., Johnson had the opportunity to immerse herself in the Olympic Movement. Follow her on Twitter: @SandraJohnson46
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