Olympic Gold Medalist Erica Wiebe Announces Retirement from Wrestling

(Montreal) Wrestler Erica Wiebe, who won gold for Canada at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, announced her retirement on Wednesday.

Updated yesterday at 12:16 p.m.

Wiebe won the gold medal in the under 75 kg category after defeating Kazakh Guzel Manyurova in the final at the Rio Games, Brazil.

The 34-year-old, who hails from Stittsville, Ontario, also earned bronze at the 2018 World Championships, and was a two-time Commonwealth Games champion.

“Most of my wrestling memories are associated with the community, friends and role models who inspired me in the sport,” Wiebe said in a statement. My participation in my first Olympic Games, as part of this unique team of six incredible women, and the bond we formed will be things I will cherish for the rest of my life. »

Wiebe will remain active in her field as a facilitator, instructor and administrator.

She is currently the manager of athlete relations, safe sport and diversity, equity and inclusion for the Canadian Olympic Committee.

The Ontarian tried many sports growing up, and she didn’t become interested in wrestling until age 9, after seeing a poster promoting a competition put up at the outside his school gymnasium.

“I fell in love with this sport. It’s funny because in elementary school, the Olympics just wasn’t on my radar, Wiebe said. When I started wrestling, women’s wrestling wasn’t even on the Olympic program.

“Then, three years later, after women’s wrestling was added to the Olympic program, I wrote in my diary: ‘London 2012. Look at me,’” she said.

Wiebe was a reserve wrestler on the Canadian team in London in 2012, then won gold at the Rio Games in 2016. She finished 11th at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

His gold medal is one of three for Canada in wrestling at the Olympic Games, following those of Daniel Igali in the under 69 kg at the Sydney Games in 2000 and Carol Huynh in the under 48 kg at the Beijing Games in 2008.

Wiebe will be honored at the Canadian Wrestling Championships in Ottawa on March 15.

2024-03-14 02:02:00
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