Tonya Verbeek

Tonya Verbeek

Verbeek (bottom) in 2003
Personal information
Nationality Canadian
Born (1977-08-14) 14 August 1977
Grimsby, Ontario, Canada
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight 55 kg (121 lb)
Sport
Sport Freestyle wrestling
Club Brock Wrestling Club, Ontario

Tonya Lynn Verbeek (born 14 August 1977) is a Canadian freestyle wrestler. Verbeek was the first woman to win a wrestling medal for Canada when she took silver in 2004, she added to that with a bronze at the 2008 Summer Olympics and a second silver at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She has also won two bronze and a silver at the world championships and has a bronze and silver from the Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games respectively.[1]

Sports career

She was born in Grimsby, Ontario. She took up wrestling in grade eleven and was undefeated throughout high school in Beamsville, Ontario. She trains at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, and is coached by Marty Calder.

She won a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in freestyle women's wrestling in the 55 kg category.

At the 2008 Summer Olympics, she won Canada's third medal overall, the third Canadian medal ever in women's wrestling,[2] by winning a bronze.[3] Verbeek won a silver medal at the 2011 world championships. She was undefeated in 2012 when she was named to the Canadian team for the 2012 Summer Olympics.[4] On 9 August 2012,Verbeek defeated Geeta Phogat of India in her first round match.[5] Verbeek went on to win the silver medal in the Women's 55 kg freestyle category, being defeated by Saori Yoshida in the final.

Wrestling record

International results

Canadian National Championships

See also

References

  1. "Tonya Verbeek". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC.
  2. CBC Television, Olympic Late Night, 16 August 2008
  3. "Roll call: Canada's medal winners". Sympatico MSN. 23 August 2008. Retrieved 23 August 2008.
  4. "Carol Huynh, Tonya Verbeek top Canadian Olympic wrestlers". CBC Sports. 6 July 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  5. "Olympic wrestling: Geeta Phogat loses opening fight". Deccan Herald. 9 August 2012.

External links

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