In a rare convergence of events, the World Olympic Trials, representing the last chance for our Canadian athletes to qualify for the ultimate event of their wrestling careers, was held at the same time as the Eastern Canadian Championships, a showcase event for our younger athletes. Both tournaments took place from May 7th to the 9th. The World Olympic Qualifiers were held in Istanbul Türkiye while the Eastern Canadian Championships were held at the Kahnawake Sports Complex in Kahnawake, Quebec.

Mat B is set for action in Türkiye!

For the Olympic Qualifiers, Linda Morais (68 kg WW) and Stone Lewis (74 kg FS) of the Montreal Wrestling Club NTC would be competing for their spot while John Yeats (77 kg GR) of the Tritton Performance Wrestling Club would also be in contention for a spot as well. All three athletes would hope to join Alex Moore who qualified his spot at the Pan American Olympic Qualifiers earlier this year. The top three competitors in each weight would qualify for the Olympics, making this a high stakes affair. For the Eastern Canadian Championships, clubs from Ontario, the Maritimes and of course, Quebec would be in attendance, making it one of the largest developmental tournaments in the country. The results from the various competitions would be the following:

The Final Olympic Qualifiers

(Photo property of UWW)

Linda Morais 68 kg WW
Opponent Country Score
Danute Domikaiyte (Qualification)
 Lithuania W 10-0
Nabira Esenbaeva (1/8)
 Uzbekistan W 10-0
Zhou Feng (Quarterfinal)
 China L 12-0
Ohyoung Ha (Repechage)
 Korea W 10-0
Mimi Hristova (Bronze Medal)
 Bulgaria W 14-4
Alexandra Nicoleta Anghel (True Third)
 Romania W 4-3
Final Result Bronze Medal (Olympic Qualifier)

(Photo property of UWW)

Stone Lewis 74 kg FS
Opponent Country Score
Vadym Tsurkan (Qualification) Ukraine L 12-0
Final Result DNP

(Photo property of UWW)

John Yeats 77 kg GR
Opponent Country Score
Paulius Galkinas (1/16) Lithuania L 10-1
Final Result DNP

Congratulations to Linda Morais for qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games!

(Photo property of Justin Hoch and Wrestling Canada Lutte)

The Eastern Canadian Championships

At the Eastern Canadian Championships, many clubs came to compete as the CLIC, Club de Lutte Lasalle,  KSS, the Kanienkehaka Tehontatienas Mohawk Wrestling Club/HSB, LES Crazy Dogs, Massey Vanier, les Patriotes de St-Cesaire, the Riverdale Wrestling Club,  the YM-YWHA. Hosted by the Kanienkehaka Tehontatienas Mohawk Wrestling Club/HSB, the tournament was yet another example of a quality event hosted by a Quebec club. In total, twenty-nine teams competed at the competition with the results being the following:

A fantastic venue for the event!

Tykes
Boys Girls
24 kg 28 kg 34 kg 42 kg 28 kg 33 kg

The Opening Ceremonies were punctuated with some cultural flare

Novice
Boys Girls
26 kg 28 kg 29 kg 30 kg 26 kg 30 kg 35 kg 40 kg
33 kg 35 kg 37 kg 42 kg 46 kg 53 kg
48 kg 52 kg 57 kg 66 kg

The Honour Guard

Team Quebec makes their entrance

Kids
Boys Girls
26 kg 30 kg 32 kg 35kg 32 kg 35 kg 41 kg 45 kg
38 kg 40 kg 42 kg 45 kg 65 kg 70 kg 71 kg
47 kg 50 kg 54 kg 63 kg
65 kg 71 kg

The athletes assemble

Bantam
Boys Girls
33 kg 40 kg 42 kg 47 kg 45 kg 50 kg 55 kg 60 kg
50 kg 52 kg 58 kg 60 kg 77 kg 93 kg 100 kg
63 kg 72 kg 84 kg

For the Team Scores, the results were the following:

Tykes Boys Tykes Girls
Novice Boys Novice Girls
Kids Boys Kids Girls
Bantam Boys Bantam Girls

Congratulations to the Riverdale Wrestling Club who won the Team Titles in the Tyke Boys and Bantam Boys and to the LES Crazy Dogs who won the Team Title in the Tyke Girls. A special mention to the Kanienkehaka Tehontatienas Mohawk Wrestling Club/HSB and the people of Kahnawake for hosting the tournament as this was surely a memorable event!