Hey!!?? For anyone who has been to a major games experience, it is crazy with sports, events, parties happening almost very hour of the day sleep is often not given a high enough priority. Since I am flyin directly to Sweden to compete on Monday I have tried to keep things in check but still gotten the most out of my games experience! This has included so far watching live bobsleigh, speed skating, and men's hockey and today in a few hours I'm heading to ski cross! I'm staying in Sochi but most of my events (and the most important one, bobsleigh) are located in the mountains which is about a 2-2.5 hour trek one way!! It is long but sometimes the down time on the bus is welcomed I just need to make sure I don't fall asleep and miss my stop... The atmosphere is amazing here and everyone is cheery and passionate! It is a little different from London only in terms of there's not a pub (or more) on every street corner so some people are disappointed by the lack of options of late night adventures. I have gotten a grasp on the train and bus situation and feel quite comfortable sorting myself out getting from venue to venue. I feel like it has been very easy to 'stay fit' at the Games because there is lots of walking and usually I'm so busy I forget to eat three meals a day... Food has been an issue around here as it is not uncommon for the different cafés and what not to run out of different things. Even at the hockey game last night I was going to treat myself and have a beer and pizza but they weren't selling either.. I found a granola bar in my bag and that tided me over until I got back to the hotel. So far, it's been amazing but for me things are just ramping up as Chris prepares for 4man on Saturday & Sunday. It was my one purpose here to be a presence and support him and it's been great sharing this time together. We got to spend the day together on Monday but other than that I have only seen him once between heats on the first day of two man. We knew it would be tough to see each other, that comes as a second priority right now to winning medals but just being in the same city and experiencing the same Olympic fever together has been awesome! He is feeling confident and ready going into 4man. The track is tricky as evidenced by the wide distribution of times in both men's and women's 2man but I'm having good feelings about 4man!! That's all for now, tweet at me if there's any questions or if you want me to blog on a certain topic!! Honestly I could go on for days about every single moment because it's so fascinating and if you're reading this still that means you're remotely interested... So yes.. Please let me know if there's something you want to see or hear from SOCHI 2014
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First day at the Games lived up to the expectations and much much more. There is an overwhelmingly large Russian fan base here and the foreign supporters are few and far between. Say that I have met some of the most amazing people on buses, trains, and street corners than I ever thought possible. I think there is something in the air here in Sochi. Whirl wind of a day which was highlighted by getting "back stage" at the bobsleigh event. It was great to feel the energy. First time in my life having big legs paid off... I fit right in. Coverage of the Olympics is everywhere and whether you are watching our athletes whizz by on the ice and soar high on the half pipes, you may notice there is a strong presence of Canadian supporters on the sidelines! Attending the Olympics Games as an athlete is the stuff dreams are made of but in my own personal experience attending as a spectator can cause headaches, empty bank accounts, and vomiting. The Sochi Olympic Games came with a number of unprecedented organizational hurdles to overcome. Arranging tickets, hotels, flights & transportation can be difficult but across the world and in a difficult foreign language only adds to the struggle. I began planning my trip to Sochi just over six months ago and determined that attaining the trifecta of flight, accommodations, and visa were my top priorities. You see, to enter Russia as a Canadian citizen you need a special tourist visa that requires a letter from your hotel or travel agency declaring you have accommodations. Some longer stay Russian visas have several other hoops to jump through including a HIV test… but luckily all I had to do was come up with a piece of paper stating I wasn’t go to couch surf. I got my declaration letter from an external Canadian based agency which cost extra but was more reliable and time effective. Shortly before I went to apply, the Russian Embassy announced that you would also need to register for a ‘spectator pass’ and this would be an additional form of accreditation and security measure to allow spectators to enter any venue with their accompanied event ticket. A week later the announced again you would not only need your spectator pass, declaration letter but also proof of Olympic ticket purchase to apply for a tourist visa. The visa process was a scary one and I applied in person to a very nice Russian lady at the Russian Embassy when I was home in Ottawa over Christmas. My heart was pounding when a not so nice looking Russian man took me into the back room but alas, he handed me back my passport complete with my new shiny Russian visa! Meanwhile I was working with the Friends & Family coordinator at Bobsleigh Canada who was able to secure me a hotel room for the first four nights of my stay at a reasonable price and also booked my flights through Moscow. Through connections I have made with the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and with my status as a ‘local volunteer’ I got hooked up and will be staying at the Performance Centre in Khosta for the second part of my trip. This is a COC organized hotel which they will use as the Canadian base away from the Village to allow athletes, support staff, and volunteers to rest up. Despite flights on Expedia coming in just over $4,000 when I first looked back in September, I felt I got a good deal and came away with an Air Canada flight through Moscow for just under $2,000. I will be flying on a small Russian airline to Sochi from there. Inevitably with travel, things go wrong and more often than not luggage gets lost…. I was really hoping to take carry-on only to Sochi but all flights internally through Russia have a strict no liquids policy now! Part of me is relieved they are taking extra security precautions, the other part of me is annoyed because I just want some toothpaste! I leave for Sochi in just under 48 hours…not like I’m counting down the seconds or anything…and my bags are half packed and my adrenaline is going full swing. I am excited and ready for whatever will happen at the Games. Will Sochi 2014 will be remembered as the ‘gay games’, construction havoc, rampant corruption, bobsleigh beards or Canada’s domination… only time will tell. For me it will be a once in a lifetime adventure. Please stay tuned for what’s next. This past weekend I coached the Alberta Winter Games Zone 3 (Calgary) wrestling team! I could not think of a better send off to get my pumped for my trip out to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games… It was an amazing weekend that truly inspired me and these young athletes to ‘reach for their peak’ (conveniently that was the AWG’s official motto).
In many ways, the two weekends were polar opposites of one another. Over in Sochi, The Cayman Islands walked into the opening ceremonies with sandals and shorts …while we froze our extremities outside in the -40 degree weather! The Opening Ceremonies was a truly remarkable event held ‘Block Party’ style on Banff Ave. We cheered loudly for our zone and were greeted by past Olympians and encouraged on in a video tribute by former AWG athletes who are in Sochi competing! My highlight was the performance of one of my favorite Calgary-based artists, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald who really can do no wrong. We huddled back to our luxurious accommodations and got some shut eye before the big weekend. Unlike the controversial #Sochiproblems that have been rampant, our accommodations were ready and welcoming, it wasn’t 4-star but sleeping on mats in a kindergarten classroom at the Banff Elementary School with 15 pre-teen girls was entertaining if nothing else. The competition was held over two days. The team competition was a dual meet format with teams going head to head earning points for a cumulative score. My favourite dual of the weekend was against Cochrane who are our zone neighbours, familiar opponents and training partners. There was an electrifying intensity between the two teams and throughout the dual and we fired it up … After 18 matches, it came down to our last heavy-weight to pull up the big win, and that he did! I have never been more proud of my team for putting in such a massive team effort but also for winning with poise and dignity. We went on to win Team Gold the next day and later that afternoon we had an individual competition and once again wrestled like champions. I was impressed with the technical skills of these athletes but more so their passion and maturity on the mat. It was an honour being a part of such a great group. The atmosphere of these Games was no different than my past Games experiences (as a training partner at the London 2012 Olympics, and as a bronze medalist at the 2013 FISU Games). There is something so powerful when you bring together such a large array of people. There is a special magic in the air and that is what truly makes me believe in the power of sport. I returned home late on Sunday and my focus immediately shifted to my own preparations to depart for Sochi this upcoming Friday. Amid the swirls of controversy, corruption, and human rights abuses, there is an Olympic movement that transcends it all. At the intersections of politics, economics and sport, there are the dreams of athletes from around the world on the line. As an athlete who shares those dreams and proud fan, I firmly believe in the power of sport to transcend social, political, economic boundaries and provide an arena to celebrate and embrace those differences. Oh yah and …. Go Canada Go! This year the women's tournament of the Dave Schultz Memorial was bigger than the men's! We had a huge turnout of international teams with athletes from Kazakhstan, Switzerland, China, India, Hungary, Peru, & Argentina all representing. Most categories were massive with 15-25 athletes however as the athletes feel out different weight classes and adjust accordingly, it seems that 75kg is just too big of a jump for some. My 'new' category had only five people which was terribly small but on the bright side, meant I was guaranteed four matches in a round robin format rather than the usual double elimination bracket. Not cutting weight for a tournament will continue to be a new experience for me however I was able to train and lift all the way up until the day before the competition. It feels nice to be able to pump out some fast and explosive 'light' 65kg cleans the day before. I also wanted to get on the mats to break in some new boots which I had to quickly purchase the day before after I busted my boots the day before... So as you see in the picture, here is my new flashy boots with my Gold Medal! Typically I don't worry too much about the hardware but this weekend it was a little different. I put in a solid effort and came away with a big win. I was happy to go out there and have the opportunity to wrestle the 2013 World Champion and just get in there and battle. It wasn't my most exciting wrestling but I wrestled a smart, tactical match and scored when I needed to. I am starting to see the years of hard work paying off and I can only continue to keep pushing forward! Tomorrow we start a training camp here in Colorado Springs with Team USA and some of the other international teams so it will be great. The camp will be at the Olympic Training Centre here in Colorado Springs and it is a top-notch facility. Need to put in a solid couple days of training with this wide variety of training partners here. Can't wait to get on the mats! January has been a great month. I started off the year by running a Youth Development Skills camp at the University of Alberta. It was a stellar camp with great kids and I was joined by 2008 & 2012 Olympic, Matt Gentry who is an ultimate rockstar. It was great watching him interact with the young wrestlers and I even picked up a few tips for myself.
The past couple weekends, I wrestled in two domestic tournaments which I used as a little tune-up for the 2014 International season. I wrestled and won at the Golden Bear in Edmonton and then at the Guelph Open, in Guelph Ontario. These two tournaments were good prep to get ready for my upcoming season; on the horizon I have three big international tournaments; the Dave Schultz Memorial in Colorado Springs, The Klippan Open in Sweden, and then the World Cup in Tokyo, Japan at the end of March. All of this is super exciting...BUT to be honest it's a little hard to focus on my own travels because I will be heading to the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi on February 14th!!!! I am so ridiculously excited!!! I will be going to support my partner and Canada 2 Bobsleigh Pilot, Chris Spring. To be honest it has been a huge headache organizing all the minute details but I now have my visa's, flights, hotels, and different accreditations lined up and I know the energy and joy I will feel being in Sochi will be so worth it. In two days, I will be flying to Colorado Springs for the Dave Schultz Memorial. Lots of international teams will be present and I will hopefully have some redemption against the Mongolian who I lost to at World Champs this past September. There will be a 3-day training camp afterwards at the Olympic Training Centre. The environment down there is so intense and energized. It'll be great to be down there and get in some great competition and training. That's all for now folks. I will do a post-tournament re-cap and I will also be trying to blog throughout my trip in Sochi so please stay tuned! So I may be a day late but who’s counting? I would love to say
I’ve spent the last 24 hours reflecting quietly on the past year but as you too will soon see … I really don’t have time for that kind of behaviour! The past year has been an amazing success for me on the wrestling mats and has come with the typical craziness that always seem to be prevalent in my life. I competed in my first major games, won my 2nd National Championship, and travelled to 8 different countries. It was my second season without any varsity wrestling commitments but it was once again weird not spending the month of February travelling Canada competing against this country’s top university wrestlers. I miss not being a Dino however my focus has now shifted to be 100% set on domination at the international level. This has opened up the opportunity for different competitions and a more specifically tailored training regime. The international wrestling season is dominated during the summer months. In March, I won the Canadian National Championships but had to wrestle-off later in July to secure my spot of the World Team due to an injury provision. My summer was jam-packed with training camps and competitions just the way I like it. To secure my spot on the World Team I had to win my wrestle-off. Rather than preparing for a tournament style competition where I would be advancing through a group of athletes; preparing for a wrestle-off presented new challenges for me to overcome. I had weeks to mentally and physically prepare to wrestle one specific opponent. In this case it would be a teammate, Olympian, and tough opponent I had never beat before. This presents one of the reasons why I love the sport of wrestling so much, it is a physical and emotional battle at the most primal level that requires intense energy both in body and mind to overcome. It is in that struggle that we find out who we truly are. As I wrote in a previous blog post, I went into the wrestle-off poised and prepared and despite, some unforeseen technically issues, I was able to come out victorious and secure my spot representing Canada at the Senior World Championships. In July, I competed in my first major games (the FISU Games in Kazan, Russia) and WOW!? It was such a surreal experience. I enjoyed every second of the atmospheric village, the friendly Canadian team, the thrill of competition, and the welcoming Russian hosts. I finished with a bronze medal and was happy but hungry for more! I returned to the mats in Calgary with a sense of urgency and brought that determination to my next competition in Spala, Poland in late August. Despite missing my flight out of Calgary, I arrived relaxed and excited to compete. During the tournament, I had 4 tough matches and found myself down numerous times but I kept coming back and kept fighting. I beat the number 1 & 2 ranked girls in the world as well as a former Olympic medalist. Standing on top of the podium that day I was so proud of the way I wrestled which for me was the most rewarding part. My first Senior World Championships in September came as a shock. I went in mentally and physically prepared however this was the big dance and everything felt a little different. My coaches were prou do my performance however I lost in the dying seconds of my last match (the bronze medal semi-final) and to be so close is always the hardest. I competed well but didn’t achieve my goal of coming Top 3. It was a year of transformation for my wrestling but also for the sport of wrestling. As a sport, we had to fight for our spot on the Olympic Program and in the process there were significant changes to the way the sport is participated in. New rules, new weight classes, new management; it was a year of many, many changes. (If this has you asking some questions, I recommend you read women’s national team coach, Leigh Vierling’s blog. He has written a great re-cap of the past year’s events from a Wrestling Canada perspective http://cawanatcoach.blogspot.ca/?spref=fb) During the Save Olympic Wrestling Campaign I was able to participate in two marquee events, a women’s dual in Niagara Falls, Canada against Ukraine and USA in June and a showcase match against 2013 World Bronze Medalist, Adeline Gray in Madison Square Gardens, New York in December. In 2014, I will be competing in a new weight class and will be moving up from 72kg to 75kg. I will be travelling to Asia for the first time and competing in my first World Cup in Tokyo, Japan. I will also be cheering on Canada and a certain ruggedly handsome Bobsleigh athlete at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi. I seem to be making a habit now of attending Olympic Games and will continue to work tirelessly to change that status as a mere attendee into something more substantial. My upcoming year holds so many more unknown, yet to be realized opportunities and I revel in the process of seeking out these new challenges and opportunities. I am so blessed with all the incredible things in my life and I would not be able to realize any of it without the numerous supporters in my life including family, coaches, teammates, and friends. Here’s to 2014. Bring it on. My 2013 Wrestling Highlights · Canadian National Champion · Pan-American Championships -Bronze Medal · Universiade Games (FISU) – Bronze Medal · Poland Open Champion · Senior World Championships – 7th Place · Wrestled in Madison Square Gardens, New York in front of 10,000 people · Travelled to USA, Panama, Australia, NZ, Germany, Poland, Russia, Hungary It's been an exciting end to the 2013 season. In December I wrestled and won in the world's most iconic stadium, Madison Square Gardens and also at home in the Jack Simpson at the U of C.
Wrestling in MSG was a great experience. We were part of an NCAA men's duals event and so I'm used to be outnumbered in the sport of wrestling but being 1 of 4 girls out of close to 200+ wrestlers was something that I couldn't get used it! However being a showcase match for women's wrestling our job was to put on a good show so I got to work and took care of business. I was wrestling a tough and familiar opponent but me and my coach, Leigh prepared well and came up with a very specific game plan. I went out and implemented it and came out with the win 5-2! The next weekend, Calgary was hosting the Nordhagen Classic, an all-women's international wrestling event! Christine did an amazing job with her team and put on an outstanding tournament. I have never wrestled a better group of international competition at home in Calgary. I loved this event because it was an all-women's tournament and Christine does the extra touches making it "girly and fun" just because.. we're wrestlers but we're girls too! For the 'medalists' we got charm bracelets and the winners took home lululemon bags as the prize! It was finally a real incentive to bring home the gold! Just kidding :) I wrestled hard defeating two Germans and a Hungarian and won the tournament without giving up a single defensive point. I also took home the outstanding wrestler award! Overall, an awesome end to an awesome year and I will write up a full review in the coming days! Cheers till then! A couple weeks ago, Leigh Vierling, Women's National Team Coach asked if I was interested in wrestling an exhibition match in December against the American No.1 at 72kg. Never one to step down from a challenge I was excited ... it was only afterwards that he mentioned it would be in front of 10,000 people at the most iconic sports arena of all time!!!
On Sunday I will step out and wrestle in Madison Square Garden at the 2nd annual Grapple in the Gardens event. Hard to describe how excited I am to wrestle in an opportunity like this ... Wrestling is a sport that is often relegated to the basements and back rooms of training centers and people's minds. For the sport to have this kind of exposure is really exciting and of course, being apart of the big event is the icing on the cake. I will be matched up against 2012 World Champ, and 2013 World Bronze medallist Adeline Gray who is a familiar opponent for me. I am eager to battle it out and I know we will put on a good show. Our wrestling styles are very complimentary but on Sunday... there will be no holding back. Game faces on everybody. Its time to Grapple in the Gardens. Things are conveniently “falling” into place this
month as I am getting back into the swing of things this Fall season. The ‘summer’ season ended late into the year with my return from the World Championships in late September. After that, I took a little break away from the mats to set things back to normal. There are two types of serious breaks in wrestling; intentional and unintentional. I have been lucky to have had few unintentional breaks from the mat; which usually translates into the body breaking down and needing time to heal. This intentional break, however, was more of a mental one in which I was given the time to turn down the competitive engines and cool things off a little bit. I was off the mats for a full 3 weeks which seems crazy! I used this time to get into yoga, enjoy the mountains, spend time with my partner, and even have a little fun on a short trip to Vegas right at the end. I returned to the mats early October and haven’t looked back since. Now after a couple solid weeks back at it, I am gearing up for my next competition. I’m flying tomorrow to New York on Wednesday to compete in the New York Athletic Club International and am eager to step back onto the mats! Yesterday at training, I got thinking about potential competitors and match preparation and I was so anxious and excited! It’s such a good feeling to have. This month will be pretty busy for me. I will be heading back to New York on Nov. 30th to compete at the Grapple in the Gardens, which is a showcase event held at Madison Square Gardens. Even thinking about it makes me feel a little bit like a rock star. I’m very excited to be one of the showcase matches selected! For more info check out: http://www.thegarden.com/grapple In early December, I will get the rare chance to compete in Calgary at the Nordhagen Classic, a women’s international wrestling event. The only thing that stands between me and Christmas after that is a little stop in Lake Placid where I will get to watch my favorite bobsled driver compete in the last world cup of 2013. Busy times ahead for me. Wow. But what keeps me going is the daily ritual of Eat. Sleep. Wrestle. Nothing beats this life. |
AuthorErica Wiebe is a Canadian freestyle wrestler and Bachelor of Arts student at the University of Calgary. Her passion for wrestling and writing combine in the words of this blog, sprinkled with a strong opinion on certain matters and a hint of feminist thrown in for good measure. Archives
August 2017
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