Weicker and Di Bacco golden in Germany
Diana Weicker is shown training with Sweden’s Sophia Mattson. Photo courtesy of the Swedish Wrestling Federation.
Diana Weicker took down a giant in winning a gold medal in the 53-kilogram division at the Grand Prix of Germany.
In the final, the 29-year-old Brock Wrestling Club member pinned Sweden’s Sophia Mattson. Mattson’s resume includes two junior world championships, one senior world championship and a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
“It was very personal to me because she is somebody that I have known for many, many years and I actually wrestled her 10 years ago at the same tournament when we were both juniors,” Weicker said. “I have always had her in my head as somebody who is obviously very good overall and she is an excellent athlete.
“It was so exciting to be able to step up and perform at my best and not get overwhelmed by all the things that I know about her.”
The Thorold resident admitted she was a little surprised and stunned when she pinned Mattson.
“I couldn’t quite see what was happening and the ref didn’t hit the mat (to signify a pin),” she said. “When you’re in a pinning position, you never let someone off their back until it’s confirmed because you lose that position.”
National team coach Tonya Verbeek also didn’t know the ref had signalled a pin.
“The ref kept blowing his whistle and I was thinking that they better not screw me,” Weicker said.
The mother of two is excited knowing that it wasn’t a flukey victory. She was beating Mattson 6-2 when she pinned her in the second round.
“That was the part I was most happy about,” she said. “Anyone can catch anyone and pin them, but I actually felt comfortable and confident against her once the matched started.”
For her performance, Weicker was named the outstanding wrestler at the event.
“I have never been awarded that before at any point in my career and I was thrilled to be acknowledged in that way.”
Mattson is the biggest named Weicker has taken down in the last year. The weekend before at the Klippan Lady Open in Sweden, Weicker knocked off a former world silver medalist in the quarter-finals on the way to a bronze medal wrestling up a weight class at 55 kilograms. She also had a close match versus a world champion from 2017.
“I beat a few other Olympians last year, but no one with a medal,” she said.
Her showings in Sweden and Germany have provided a huge boost of confidence.
“It’s really easy to feel confident going into a world championships where it’s a peak tournament,” she said. “Obviously the German Grand Prix I am not peaking in my performance. To be able to beat someone so good and not be at my peak, is really exciting to me.
“It means I am moving in the right direction.”
Next up on the calendar are the senior national championships March 22-24 in Saskatoon.
“I am looking to solidify another year of being on the national team and that will include qualifying for such things as the Pan Am championships, Pan Am Games and the world championships,” Weicker said.
She isn’t taking anything for granted.
“It’s one thing at a time because Canada is not a weak country by any means,” she said. “My focus right now is 100 per cent on nationals and whatever happens after that, happens.”
Brock head coach Marty Calder has been impressed with Weicker’s showing,
“She probably has a lot of confidence from her medal at the worlds (bronze) and she has figured things out in her head a little bit more,” he said. “She didn’t wrestle terribly the first week in Sweden, but she was a little more passive than she was in Germany.
“I was glad to see she was more assertive and that assertiveness led to a win.”
ONWARDS AND UPWARDS FOR DI BACCO
Olivia Di Bacco continues to work her way upward in the international wrestling ranks.
The Brock Wrestling Club member placed fifth in the 68-kilogram division at the Klippan Lady Open in Sweden and then struck gold the following weekend at the Grand Prix of Germany
“I don’t know why the second tournament has to be better than the first, but it was,” Calder said. “She is taking some time to figure it out and that is why the second one can’t be better that the first. You are not going to get a second chance at the worlds.”
Di Bacco won gold in Sweden by default when her Canadian opponent, Danielle Lappage, withdrew
“That is who she will likely wrestle to go to the Olympics,” Calder said.
He has been impressed with the strides the Orillia native has made this season.
“She won in Colorado this year and she’s the real deal,” he said. “She’s a contender and she could be better that she is.”
Di Bacco agrees with that assessment.
“The difference right now between me and me being a world champion and an Olympic champion is all mental,” she said. “I really believe that and that is what I have been spending a lot of time working on.
“As much as it’s physical training, it’s also believing in myself and believing that I belong and cannot only compete with, but beat everybody.”
Training herself mentally is not a simple approach.
“It’s a lot of different things; journalling, reflection, watching matches, a lot of reading and then some other weird stuff,” she said.
That weird stuff includes a list of affirmations.
“When lies pop up or things that are untrue and detract from where I am at right now, I immediately answer with something that is true about myself,” Di Bacco said.
She also working on being in the moment.
“The only thing that matters is the warmup and then the only thing that matters is this one match and the only thing that matters is this takedown,” Di Bacco said. “It’s creating that mental skill of being in that one moment and that is a really hard skill.”
She enjoyed her trip to Sweden and Germany.
“It was a really good experience,” she said. “I got seven international matches in which is awesome and a really good training camp in between.”
The trip included topflight competition.
“I got to wrestle some of the best in the world in my weight class which was really good to gauge where I am at and what I need to work on for the rest of the season,” the 26-year-old said.
She lost a close match to an opponent from China in the semifinals in Sweden.
“It was really frustrating,” Di Bacco said. “She got bronze at the worlds this year and I kind of wanted to take that one off the ladder.”
She almost did it.
“It was close, but I am not quite there yet,” she said. “I still made some mistakes positioning wise, but it is nice to see that I am right there. I just need to tighten up in a few areas.”
Next up for Di Bacco are the senior nationals and she heads there as the defending team trials champion. She and many of Canada’s other top female wrestlers didn’t compete in 2018 because they were at the World Cup.
“It is always important to win everything, but what’s fun and important about winning these nationals is they are a ticket to the Pan Am Games, the Pan Am championships, the world championships,” she said. “If you can get top five at the world championships, that’s a big perk for the Olympic trials in December.”
A top five finish gives a wrestler a bye to the second day of the Olympic trials.
