Updates

Feb. 16th, 2012

Another disappointing result for me this week at the tournament in Kiev. I beat a Russian in my first match, then I had a tough one against an old nemesis of mine from the Ukraine. She was Oympic Champion in my weight class in 2004 and was a bronze medalist at the 2008 Olympic Games. She was a very dirty wrestler and unfortunately she got the best of me. I then went on to wrestle a young German girl. She capitalized on a few of my mistakes and won a 3-round match. I definitely feel like I beat myself in that match. Very disappointing, but another great learning experience. I have to hold my head up high and make sure that I learn from my mistakes and successes in competition and training leading into the Games this summer.

Feb. 13th, 2012

Well, I took a very nice break from training after the Olympic Trials. I visited family and friendds in Vancouver for 10 days, went to Phoenix to visit my husband's parents, then Dan and I were off to Mexico for an all inclusive vacation.

After a few days of practice, I headed to my first competition of the year in Colorado Springs, USA. I wrestled someone from the Netherlands in my first match and I felt pretty good. After I beat her, I went on to wrestle a woman from Italy. In the first round we went scoreless so had to go to the tie-breaking clinch. I ended upinjuring my knee, but  chose to keep going and ended up winning that match. I wrestled and beat a Canadian in the next round, but lost to an American competitor in the semi-final and lost to another American in the bronze-medal match. It was a dissapointing result for me, but I was glad I got in some matches, and it will help me to prepare for the Games.

Right now I am in Kiev, Ukraine. We arrived yesterday and have our weigh-in tomorrow afternoon. We wrestle the day after that. I am excited to compete!

Dec. 18th, 2011

Yesterday, I was fighting for a spot on the London 2012 Olympic team at the 48 kg weight class. 

As the Champion of the 2011 National Championships, I just had to sit back and wait for whomever came through to challenge me.

Jessica MacDonald wrestled and beat the 2nd and 3rd place finishers at 48 kg from the 2011 National Championships: Ashley McKilligan and Lindsay Prickett. All of them are worthy opponents that have represented Canada on the international scene for many years. Jessica was a bronze medalist at the 2011 World Championships at 51 kg.

I wrestled Jessica in a best out of 3 matches competition for that Olympic spot. I won the first match in an exciting 3 rounds. She won the first round 3-2 and I won the second round 1-1 (last person to score a point wins the round). The 3rd and decidng round went 0-0 and went to the clinch, which I won. In the second match I won the first round 1-0 and then the second round I scored a point in the last 10 seconds to take the round, the match, and the title of 2012 Olympian.  

I'm super excited to be able to represent Canada at the Olympic Games again. I will be joined by Tonya Verbeek, 2x Olympic medalist; Martine Dugrenier, multiple World champion; and Leah Callahan, who beat Ohenewa Akuffo at the trials, a 3x World medalist. 

Tonya and I both qualified our weight classes at the 2011 World Championships last September by placing Top 5. Martine and Leah still have to qualify their weight classes for the Olympics in the next few months. I am 100% sure they will do so. 

Watch out London, here we come!

Dec. 16th, 2011

Well, the Canadian tournament of the quadrenial is happening right now in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I weighed in yesterday at a whopping 47.95 kilos and now I wait to see who will challenge me for the highly coveted Olympic spot.

The 48 kg and 55kg weight classes have already been qualified for an Olympic spot at the World Championships earlier this year. Now we just need to fill the spots with the best Canadians for the job! I've prepared myself the best I can to make the team.

I will have a best of 3 matches showdown with whoever makes it up the Olympic ladder. It should be exciting and nerve-wracking for everyone! 

There is a live webcast that can be found at http://www.cdnwrestlingtrials.com/

Send me good thoughts and feelings tomorrow!

Dec. 6th, 2011

The countdown begins!! Only 10 more days until the Olympic Trials! I'm super excited and can't wait to find out who will be respresenting Canada at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England. 

If you want to know more about the tournament, check out this link:http://www.cdnwrestlingtrials.com/

Oct. 27th, 2011

I haven't had a chance to update what happened at the Games, so sorry for the delay!

Last Saturday on October 22nd I competed against:

Quarterfinal: Argentina 3-0, 0-1, 3-0

Semifinal: Ecuador 2-0, 3-0

Final: USA 2-3, 4-0 

I came home with another Pan American Games gold medal! It was a great feeling to come out on top against Clarissa Chun from the United States. She has always been a great competitor and I always enjoy wrestling her because she's got a great style of wrestling that really makes me up my game. 

I am happy to be back home, although I will miss the warm weather of Mexico!

Thanks for all your support!

Oct. 21st, 2011

Arrived in Guadaljara, Mexico on Wednesday of this week. The weather has been great and the rooms are very nice. We are supposed to be sharing our apartment with fencing women, but we haven't seen them yet. We're kind of sheltered from the outside world here in the Village. Although, we did go to a mall where we worked out and cut our weight at Sport City. Everyone seems to be very friendly, wishing us luck in the sauna and cheering from the side of the road as our Canada bus goes by.

We weighed in today at 5 pm and we have been happily replenishing our fluids and snacking on some great post-weigh-in food like peanut butter, nutella, and banana sandwiches! Its off to dinner now!

Tonya Verbeek, Justine Bouchard, and myself will be competing tomorrow morning. Wish us luck! 

Oct. 14th, 2011

Had a great couple weeks of training after taking a little break after the World Championships. I am now preparing to compete at the Pan American Games next weekend. Games are always pretty exciting because there are so many different sports and a lot of amazing athletes striving to perform their best. Of course, my mind is more on the Olympic Trials taking place in December this year. I really want to make that team!

Sept. 30th, 2011

Had a great visit to Hazelton this Thursday and Friday. I was able to visit with my highschool teachers and coaches, who are all wonderful people who made a difference in my life. I was able to talk to the high school students at Hazelton Secondary School. 

I spoke about the importance of following your dreams, whether they're big or small. Having dreams motivates you to act and fuels your determination, drive, and resilience. When you have a dream, there's always a path led by goals towards reaching that dream. Sometimes that path is bumpy and winding, and it can be tough to be resilient. Having positive people around you can help strengthen your resilience.

I have been so lucky to have surrounded myself with a lot of people who support and encourage me. I only hope that I have reciprocated or have the opportunity in the future to do the same. 

For this weekend, thank you Lynn, Peter, and Peggy. Thank you Simon and Kathy, Brigitta, Joe, Debbie 1 and 2, and Charlie. Thank you to CTV for getting me back to Hazelton.

September 19th, 2011

Weigh-in day (Sept. 13th) came and went with less difficulty than anticipated, which was nice.

On competition day (Sept. 14th) I was physically feeling good, but I was really nervous. I think I was feeling the pressure of placing top 6 to qualify Canada a spot at my weight class at the 2012 Olympics. I have always placed top 6 at World Championships and I had been warring with myself in my mind that this meant I would probably be top 6 this time too or it was time for that streak to end!

I had a really good draw. I wrestled France and won, then I wrestled Germany and won. I was not performing the way I wanted to, but I was still getting the job done. I was being too careful and was not taking any risks, which sounds good, but in this sport you need to put yourself out there to be successful. I had Japan in the quarter-finals, she was the reigning World Champion. I felt the best I had all day - loose and relaxed. I wrestled very well defensively, but my offensive game was lacking. She won the first round with the clinch because we had gone 0-0 in regulation time. In the second round, she scored a 1 point takedown and I never got it back and she won the match. I had to wait to see if she would make it to the final to see if I could get back into the tournament to go for bronze.

Japan had a nail biter of a match against China, but came out on top. So all the competitors that Japan had faced would wrestler each other. Norway beat Slovakia, I beat Norway, and I had a close match against China, but lost to her in the bronze medal match. I had won the first round 1-0, but she won the next 2 rounds with the clinch because neither of us scored in regulation time. Once again, I was disappointed in my performance, but there were lots of learning opprtunities for me that will positively influence future training and competing.

The bad news was that I didn't perform the way I wanted and I did not medal.

The good news was that I had quallifed a spot for Canada at the next Olympics in the 48 kg weight class.

Now I just have to prepare myself to be the best person to represent Canada in London next summer and win the Olympic trials this December. 

September 11th, 2011

Arrived safe and sound and with all my baggage, yay!

We are staying at a great hotel not far from the airport, the food is good, the rooms are clean and airconditioned, and we have access to internet! Its amazing how much you appreciate a good clean room after experiences with cockroaches and such!  

Count down:

2 days until weigh-in

3 days until competition

September 9th, 2011

Leaving for Istanbul, Turkey today for the World Championships. I'm pretty excited, but also a little nervous! I will be meeting the rest of my teammates there:

51 kg Jessica McDonald

55 kg Tonya Verbeek

59 kg Amanda Gerhart

63 kg Justine Bouchard

67 kg Martine DuGrenier

72 kg Ohenewa Akuffo

August 31st, 2011

Schedule an appointment at Balanced Health & Sports Therapy on September 24th. All fees will be donated to Red Cross to send aid for the famine crisis in Africa.

Contact them: 1519 19th St NW, Calgary AB, T2N 2K2 403-282-0880

August 27th, 2011

Check out the Jungle Jim Hunter show on the FAN960. My coach Paul, my chiropractor Aaron, and my teammate Leah, as well as myself are all interviewed about wrestling and more.

http://www.fan960.com/ondemand/media.jsp?content=20110827_132036_13780

August 20th, 2011

Training at Brock was great. Being in a different room with different people can be refreshing. A little bit of change can be a good thing. 

I also took part in my first PwC event. It was really fun to be a part of the conference because the people were all super nice.

August 14th, 2011

After a gruelling first week back from a break, I am heading out to St. Catherines, Ontario to train at Brock University for a few days. Looking forward to seeing my teammates there and having some great training partners!