Adeline Gray hasn’t always been one of the best wrestlers in the world. In fact, she almost didn’t call herself a wrestler. If not for some key influences and the willingness to carve her own path, Gray may have instead pursued soccer, a more familiar route for her and her family. Two of her sisters achieved great success in soccer, eventually earning scholarships to play in college. Her dad, George, was the youngest of seven boys in his family and wanted Adeline to take part in something that he could more closely relate to. After initially pitching boxing — an idea shot down by her mother, Donna — George and Adeline found their way to the wrestling mat and a youth club run by her uncle. “Those first few years (of wrestling) are just fun, and then it starts to get a bit more focused, a bit more serious,” Gray said. “I really built that relationship with my dad through the sport. I used to tell people I was a soccer player who wrestled. It wasn’t until later that I actually identified as a wrestler.” After wrestling on the boys team throughout HS — this was before Colorado (and even the Olympics) had sanctioned women’s wrestling as a sport — Gray got connected with some influential coaches who were involved with USA Wrestling and the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Her perspective really changed at a tournament where, once again, she was competing against the guys. But when 2005 women’s world champion Iris Smith showed up and signed her headgear, she saw her future unfold. “I think I went two-and-out at that tournament, and my first match was against a guy who was an Olympic trials qualifier,” Gray said. “But meeting (Smith) there showed me that this was possible. There are women doing this, girls who are having tough seasons wrestling the boys but who go on to do some very special things.” Gray has been a member of two Olympic teams (2016, 2020) and won a silver medal in Tokyo. She’s collected six world championships to go with three bronze medals. And that’s all on the senior circuit. Her favorite part about her journey shouldn’t come as a surprise: it’s all the winning she’s done. But the key to all that winning, in addition to the support of her family and the wrestling community at large, has been continuous learning.  “Getting better at a craft is so special, being able to see the continuous improvement every year,” Gray said. “When I came back after the twins (her sons, AD and OJ), I remember calling my mom because I was excited about learning a new move. She said, ‘Haven’t you learned everything by now?’  “But that’s the thing, you’re always learning … the things my coach was yelling at me when I was eight, he’s still yelling at me now.” Gray credits her mom as being a true fan of the sport.  And now, as she and her partner Damaris recently welcomed their third child, Gray can reflect on the path that she chose — and that almost never was. “People get lost in the mix of sport and sometimes miss some of these boats,” Gray said. “I’ve been very proud, and lucky to have a partner that has helped me to keep on track and be prosperous as an elite athlete while still being able to build a family.  “I do remember those early bus rides with these smelly boys and thinking, ‘Where are my people?’,” Gray said. “I see these girls now going through struggles that will make them better and stronger … It’s special to have that community. I don’t take it for granted.”