Yelena Makoyed had no idea what she was walking into when she traveled to Stillwater, Oklahoma, for Final X — the best-of-three qualifying tournament for the U.S. World team.

Makoyed earned a spot in the 76-kilogram finals where she was scheduled to face Dymond Guilford. The event was on June 3, 2022, but, the day before, she and her North Central College coaches — Joe Norton and Zach Cook — were asked if they wanted a tour of the Oklahoma State campus by a man with a southern accent and cowboy boots. 

“I thought he was some tour guide,” Makoyed said. “I was seeing his face on the walls and everywhere. I was like ‘oh my gosh, that’s you.’”

That man turned out to be current Oklahoma State coach John Smith. Makoyed later found out he was a six-time World and Olympic champion when she researched his career and learned about his famed low single-leg takedown, which she has subsequently applied to her arsenal.

“My coaches were like, ‘Shame on you for not knowing who John Smith is. He’s only one of the greatest wrestlers in American history.’ I was like, ‘Wow, shame on me.’ 

Norton insisted that the two take a picture together by a large statue of OSU mascot Pistol Pete — even though Makoyed didn’t know who he was or why she would want a picture with the tour guide. They both held up the ‘pistols firing’ sign to commemorate the occasion. 

Yelena Makoyed reluctantly took a picture with John Smith

The North Central star dropped two straight matches to Guilford at Final X but has been on a tear ever since. She has won four straight international ranking tournaments and pinned 2022 World champion Yasemin Adar — the reigning World champion from Turkey — at the 2022 World Cup. 

The Orangevale, California, native recently won the Zagreb Open with three technical falls and a fall in the finals. She won 12-2 over Americans Precious Bell and Guilford along the way. Makoyed didn’t surrender a point all college season and won her third NCWWC (NCAA) championship by pinning her way through the tournament. She also won the inaugural USA Wrestling Women's College Wrestler of the Year award. 

Her only regret was that her finals match against’s King’s Cheyenne Bowman went into the second period.

“I have grown and developed tremendously in the past few years,” Makoyed said. “I went from a freshman novice know-it-all to a senior with three national titles, four ranking event golds, and many, many questions. If there’s anything I learned from life in the past four years, it’s that I actually don’t know anything about anything. 

“I hope that this mindset never fades and that I will approach all situations with a childlike curiosity and a spongelike absorption of information. Because, in the grand scheme of life, I am a nobody.”

It’s that mindset that could separate her from everyone else in the country. And she will need it, too — especially as she navigates a deep 76 kg weight class. 

Six-time World champion and Olympic silver medalist Adeline Gray is expected to return. Teenage stars Kylie Welker and Kennedy Blades — both Olympic Trials finalists — will be in the mix. Guilford — a 2022 Senior World teamer — will be a factor. So will past Final X participants Precious Bell and Skylar Grote.

“My mentality toward wrestling didn’t come from wrestling,” Makoyed said. “I think a lot of it came from hard life situations. My sophomore and junior years of college were really rough for me. I got so much mentally stronger in life, which helped with my wrestling mindset. 

“Suffering has made me have a better mindset toward wrestling. I hope I don’t come to a point in my life where everything is good and everything is super comfortable and everything is going exactly as planned. It’s way too easy to become complacent during those times — and I don’t want to be complacent.”

This mentality is refreshingly insightful and honest. Many like to celebrate their own accomplishments as a way to validate their careers. 

Makoyed has the mind of a beginner. So what if she didn’t know who John Smith was? She exhaustively researched his career and probably learned more from him because of it. 

Everyone else thinks they are something. Makoyed thinks she’s nothing. 

And that could lead to future gold medals.