Taylor one step closer to Olympics
Brock’s Hannah Taylor won the 57-kilogram division at the Olympic trials in Edmonton. STEPHEN LEITHWOOD PHOTO
The overriding feeling was relief after Brock Wrestling Club member Hannah Taylor defeated teammate Mia Friesen in the 57-kilogram finals of the Canadian Olympic wrestling trials last Saturday in Edmonton.
“I ran through that scenario in my head a 100 times leading up to this event,” the 25-year-old Summerside, PEI, native said. “The only thing that changed was who was in front of me. To have that moment after four years since I fell short of this goal four years ago where I got second at the Olympic trials was something I was waiting for.”
There was some confusion whether she had actually won the final. She took the first match against Friesen 7-1 and thought she had won the second 11-0 by technical superiority.
“I wasn’t sure I had gotten the four-point final takedown so I was sitting there for a second counting the score. It took a second for it to sink in but once it happened it was a great feeling.”
Taylor was in hurry up and wait mode at the trials. She had to wait for the pool competition to end Thursday and then on Friday she cooled her heels while viewing the winner of the pool face the third seed and then watching the winner of that match face the second seed to determine who she would meet in the final.
“It was a little bit nerve wracking because I had to prepare for every single one of my competitors knowing that I would only have to wrestle one of them in a best-of-three series,” she said. “However I was confident in my training and I had my fiancé Ligrit Sadiku come out to practice every single day and replicate each and every one of my opponents. I felt confident that whoever made it out of that tournament that I would be successful.”
She agrees it felt unusual to wrestle clubmate Friesen in the final when there was so much on the line.
“Absolutely. It was nerve wracking but it was something that I was more than happy to do knowing that one of us was going to get the opportunity to represent Canada for that Olympic spot. That’s special because if it wasn’t going to be me, I would love for it to be a teammate.”
She was thrilled that Friesen made the final.
“Four years ago, I was 21 and I made it to the Olympic trials final. Knowing that she followed in my footsteps and did the exact same thing against some tough competitors just shows what kind of path she is on. I am confident that she is going to have a moment like this in the future for herself.”
Taylor and Friesen have wrestled against each other 100s of times in practice making the final a challenge.
“It is a little bit difficult to wrestle a teammate because you have the opportunity to wrestle them every single day,” Taylor said. “They know what you do and vice versa so you have to put it on the line even though they know exactly what is coming.”
Taylor still has work to do before she is an Olympian.
She still must qualify her weight class for Paris. Her first chance will come at the Pan-American Olympic Qualifier Feb. 28 to March 1 in Acapulco, Mexico, where a top two finish will quality her for the Olympics.
“Obviously I would like to qualify at that event because that would only leave one more event after that in order to go to the Olympics.”
If she is unsuccessful there, there is one last chance at the World Olympic Qualifier May 9-12 in Istanbul, Turkey. The wrestling event at the Olympics will be staged Aug. 5-11.
Leading up to the Olympic trials, Taylor went 1-1 at the world championships and then won a silver medal at the 2023 Pan-Am Games Oct. 20 to Nov. 5 in Santiago, Chile.
“Obviously the world championships is one of the most difficult events you can have. There were large categories and tough competition and unfortunately I won one match and was eliminated in my second match. The girl that I lost ended up qualifying for the Olympics and the girls I have been losing to previously have already qualified for the Olympics. That leaves me in a spot where I have to have some strong performances to get to the Olympic alongside those girls.”
The eight-time national champion was pleased with her performance at the Pan-Am Games.
“I was single eliminated from the Pan-Am championships in the spring so to go back to the Pan-Am Games which were arguably more difficult competition and come out with a medal for Canada was special,” she said. “It showed me that I am competitive and can be successful at that level.”
To earn the silver, she defeated the woman who eliminated her at the Pan-Am championships.
“That shows that I am continuously growing, learning and getting better even though sometimes it is a little bit hard to measure.”
Leading up to the first Olympic qualifier, Taylor will compete in a world ranking series event in Croatia in January followed by a training camp in France.
“I will use February to continue to get better in my room at Brock University.”
Below are complete Brock Wrestling Club results from the Olympic trials.
Women’s 53-kilograms: Second-seeded Diane Weicker lost to third-seeded Godinez Gonzalez, who ended up winning the trials.
Women’s 57-kilograms: Taylor defeated Friesen 7-1 and by technical superiority in the final. Third-seeded Friesen advanced to the final by defeating Tianna Kennett of the Dinos Wrestling Club 4-0 and pinning second seed Alexandria Town of the London-Western WC 1:27 into the match.
Women’s 62 kilograms: Jessica Tillmanns won the pool competition by defeating Kirti Saxena by fall in the final. Tillmans then lost by technical fall to third-seeded Miki Rowbottom of the Dinos Wrestling Club.
Women’s 68 kilograms: Top-seeded Olivia Di Bacco faced second seed and former world champion Linda Morais in the final. Morais won the first round 2-1, Di Bacco won the second 10-6 after scoring a four-point takedown in the final seconds and then Morais won the deciding match 3-2.
Women’s 76 kilograms: Top-seeded Justina Di Stasio from Burnaby defeated Shauna Kuebeck in the final, by winning the first match by technical superiority and the second by pin. Second-seeded Kuebeck advanced to the final by scoring a late pin over Brianna Fraser. Third-seeded Fraser advanced to meet Kuebeck by pinning Vianne Rouleau of the Edmonton Wrestling Club.
Men’s 57-kilograms: Garette Saunders won the pool by defeating Calgary’s Vincent Gov 10-0. Saunders defeated C.LI.C.’s Christopher Merlo 11-4 in the quarter-finals and Saskatoon Wrestling Club’s Dylan Bray 7-0 in the semifinals. Saunders found himself in the finals of the trials after the second and third seeds were unable to compete. Against British Columbia’s Darthe Capellan, the top seed, Saunders lost the first match 7-2 and the second by technical superiority.
Men’s 76-kilograms: Bobby Narwal lost his opening match by technical superiority to Gunnar Sales of the Guelph Wrestling Club; Chance Mutuku lost his opening match 9-2 to Mohamed Hozayen of the Montreal NTC; and, Nick Rowe lost his opening match by technical superiority to Jasmit Phulka of the Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club.
Men’s 86-kilograms: Ignatius Pitt lost 10-0 in the pool final to Ahmed Shamiya. Pitt had advanced to the pool final by defeating Callum McNeice of the Dinos Wrestling Club 8-3 in the quarter-finals and by technical superiority over Owen Giancola of the Edmonton Wrestling Club in the semifinals.
Men’s 97-kilograms: Sarabnoor Lally won his semifinal pool match by pin over Xavier Lauzon of Tritton Performance and then lost the pool final by pin to Frederick Choquette of the Montreal NTC.
Men’s 125-kilograms: Richard DesChatelets, Jr. recorded the win in the pool final when Calgary’s Joseph Duffy was forced to retire due to injury. He advanced to the pool final with a 2-0 decision over Roger Li. DesChatelets then lost to third-seeded Jorowar Dhinsa from Abbotsford.
