Stéphanie Groß

Who is Stéphanie Groß?

Stéphanie Mary Groß is a retired amateur German freestyle wrestler, who competed in the women's middleweight category. Gross has claimed four medals at the World Championships, and seized an opportunity to compete for Germany at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Before her sporting career ended in 2008, Gross trained full time as a member of the wrestling squad for AC Ückerath in Dormagen, North Rhine-Westphalia, under her father and personal coach Walter Groß.

Gross began her career as a judoka, before she sought sights to wrestling at the tender age of fifteen. In 1997, Gross emerged herself into a sporting fame at the World Championships in Clermont-Ferrand, France, where she claimed a silver medal in the 62-kg division. Before her major Olympic debut, she held a stunning combined record of five medals; three of which came from the World Championships, and the other two from the European Championships.

When women's wrestling made its debut at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Gross qualified for the German squad, as a 29-year-old veteran in the 63 kg class.