Wiebe puts a grip on second straight Commonwealth gold
Stittsville’s Erica Wiebe had three goals for the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia: pet a koala, get a tan and win her second consecutive wrestling gold medal.
Put check marks beside two of them.
On the day Wiebe arrived at the athletes’ village, she had a photo shoot with a koala.
On Thursday, she accomplished her main goal, winning the women’s 76-kilogram class gold medal in dominating fashion. She scored three consecutive first-round victories, including two by pinning her opponents.
She’s still working on her tan in the sunshine of the Southern Hemisphere.
“It’s definitely familiar territory,” Wiebe said about her second Games’ gold medal in a row during a FaceTime interview. “I came here for a strong personal performance, and I’m happy.”
She added that winning backto-back titles was “surreal and amazing.”
“There are so many amazing athletes who have won double gold that I look up to at the Commonwealth Games. It’s amazing to be part of that legacy,” she said.
Wiebe, who trains in Calgary and won the 2016 Olympic Summer Games gold medal, recorded
a victory by fall over Blessing Onyebuchi of Nigeria in the final. She was leading 4-2 when she really seized control.
“I knew the Nigerian wrestler would be a physical opponent. She had a great day and is a great athlete,” said the world No. 8-ranked Wiebe.
“I was a little flustered at the beginning, trying to accomplish my goal. But, when I was putting her on her back, I said to myself, 'OK, let’s end it right now.’ I went for the pin.”
Wiebe, 28, moved into the final of her one-day competition by defeating Hajaratu Kamara of Sierra Leone with a pin in the quarter-finals and Georgina Nelthorpe of England with a victory by technical superiority (11-0) in the semifinals.
“The nerves were definitely there (before the competition),” Wiebe said. “It’s a good sign I wanted to be engaged. I look forward to the nerves.
“The quality of wrestling is always growing. Nigeria and India are always strong. I’m proud to compete at the Commonwealth Games. As the competition opens up to the world, it gets harder and harder.”
Wiebe’s undefeated effort was one of the national highlights on the first of three days of wrestling. Canada finished Thursday’s competition with two gold medals, one silver and one bronze. India also had four medals (two gold, one silver and one bronze), while Nigeria counted three (one silver and two bronze).
Steven Takahashi of London, Ont., the son of former Ottawa wrestler Ray Takahashi, earned silver in the men’s 57-kilogram class.
Ray Takahashi competed at two Commonwealth Games, winning gold in 1978 at Edmonton and silver in 1982 at Brisbane, Australia.