Moores is golden in Brazil
Indira Moores made the most of her second chance to represent Canada at the international level.
Competing at the 2018 World University Wrestling Championship Sept. 4-9 in Goiania, Brazil, the Brock Wrestling Club member won a gold medal in the 68-kilogram division.
“I was kind of excited because a lot of my teammates got to go too,” the Whitefish, Ont., native said. “There were five other Brock wrestlers who went so I was happy and proud to be a part of that.”
It was especially great to go with Brock teammates Sam Jagas and Tyler Rowe.
“We were rookies on the (Brock varsity) team together so to get to go to a World University meet together was kind of cool.”
Moores, who last represented Canada at the Pan Am Wrestling Championships in Chile in 2015 where she won a bronze medal in the 60-kilogram division, didn’t go to Brazil with the highest of expectations.
“I had a bit of a rough last couple months of my season,” she said. “I didn’t really perform well at nationals and I had a persistent injury. I was feeling low.”
The trip to Brazil came at the perfect time.
“I was just coming back into training twice a day and remembering that I liked wrestling again and working towards goals,” the phys-ed graduate said. “When I found out that I was going, I was thinking that I wanted to keep it going and remind myself to be thankful and enjoy it.”
The two-time Canadian and three-time Ontario university wrestling champion will use her gold as motivation to move forward with her wrestling career.
“I always thought that I would go to the 2020 (Olympic) trials and then reevaluate where my wrestling career was going, but after I graduated I was wondering if it was worth it any more because of injuries and stuff.
“After I was selected, I can see that I am still able to wrestle at an international level.”
Moores, who won senior national titles in 2015 and 2016 in a non-Olympic weight class (60 kilograms), admits she had had doubts about her future in wrestling,
“I look back and I never made the junior national team and I didn’t get to go to under-23 worlds so I was really disappointed that there were so many goals that I didn’t reach,” she said.
But after talking to her coaches and her sports psychologist she looked at things differently.
“Sure those goals weren’t reached but there was so much in that process that I enjoyed like working with the team,” she said. “They are the best people I know, I learn things every day and I realized how lucky I am.
“I know it’s a life not everyone has and I am really fortunate that I get to do it.”
Away from the mat, Moores does respite care for parents who have disabled children.
