BEIJING — Irini Merleni of Ukraine defeated Hawai'i's Clarissa Chun of the United States for a bronze medal at 48 kilometers (105.5 pounds) today in Olympic women's freestyle wrestling at China Agricultural University Gymnasium.

Merlini, the 2004 Olympic champion, beat Chun, a Roosevelt High alum from Kapolei, by fall, 1 minute, 6 seconds into the second period.

Carol Huyhn of Canada defeated Japan's Chiharu Icho for the gold.

In the semifinals, world champion Icho beat Chun on a tiebreaker, despite being put on her back for three points in the first second of overtime.

Icho won 1-0, 0-3 (OT), 1-1 over Chun, whose second-period throw drew gasps from a crowd accustomed to watching Japan wrestlers dominate.

Icho trailed 1-0 in the third period before driving Chun off the mat for the decisive point. When the score is tied at the end of the period, the second and most-used tiebreaker is the last wrestler to score.

"I definitely think I could have won that match, no doubt," said Chun, who nearly broke into tears several times in a post-match interview.

Chun won her first two matches, beating Sweden's Sofia Mattsson and Vanessa Boubryemm of France.