At the U.S. Olympic wrestling team trials in June, Clarissa Chun, a diminutive athlete from Hawai'i, gained the admiration of fans and media alike by staging a huge upset of seven-time national champion and 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Patricia Miranda.

In the process, Chun, who stands 4 feet 11, fulfilled a lifelong dream, becoming the first wrestler from Hawai'i to qualify for a U.S. Olympic team.

"I was so overwhelmed after I won the trials," Chun said in a USA Wrestling story. "I was so excited, happy, everything. I thought I was going to cry, but I didn't ... To be able to perform like that was amazing."

Chun will compete in the 48-kilogram (105.5 pounds) division in the women's freestyle competition.

Chun, a 1999 Roosevelt graduate from Kapolei, is making her first trip to the Olympics as a competitor after traveling to Athens as an alternate in 2004.

Chun won state wrestling titles for the Rough Riders in her junior and senior seasons before attending Missouri Valley College, where she helped kick start the Vikings' first women's wrestling program.

In 2002, Chun made the move to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., where she has been since.

She went 3-0 to set up a rematch of the 2004 trials final against Miranda. Chun was the fourth seed in the tournament as a result of placing fourth at the U.S. Senior Nationals earlier in the year. It was at that tournament, where Miranda beat her in the semifinals, that Chun began the turnaround that led to adding Olympian to her resume.

"It's kind of weird and kind of crazy to think about it," Chun said. "It is great when people call you an Olympian. It's really cool to hear that ... It's a great feeling."

Chun, who is half Chinese, will have a difficult task ahead if she is to medal in Beijing. Two-time defending World Champion, Chiharu Icho of Japan and Ukraine's Irini Merlini, who is the defending Olympic gold medalist, are two of the favorites in the weight class. China's Xueceng Ren, who lost to Icho in the finals of the Asian Championships this year, is another front runner as the 2005 World Champion.

Chun, who has a communications degree from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, is planning to teach English to kindergarten students in Japan after the Olympics. For now, she is focused on wrestling.

"I want to win an Olympic gold medal. I feel really confident right now and I've wrestled well against a lot of the top girls in my weight class," said Chun. "I've wrestled in the World Championships, so I'm not going to be overwhelmed or intimidated by the big stage of the Olympics. I've been training my whole life for this opportunity. I will be ready."

Reach Kalani Takase at ktakase@honoluluadvertiser.com.