October 25 was a landmark day for the Canadian women’s team at the 2024 U23 World Championship that took place in Tirana, Albania. This event gained incredible popularity, with almost every Canadian bookmaker covering it since Canadian athletes achieved great results there. Two Canadians have found their places on the podium: Serena Di Benedetto from Ontario and Vianne Rouleau from Edmonton. These athletes did their best and earned silver medals, capping off the spectacular competition with success for each of the competitors.
Di Benedetto, training at the Hamilton Wrestling Club, earned a medal in the women’s 53kg weight class. She defeated Sila Aykul from Turkey 6-0 in the opening round. Next, she faced Anastasia Blayvas from Germany in the quarterfinals and won 13-6 in this thrilling match. This victory set up a semifinal matchup against Xiaomin Xie from China, where Di Benedetto won 10-5, making another impressive performance.
Di Benedetto faced former U20 Asian Champion Yu Sakamoto from Japan in the final. Sakamoto led 6-0 at the end of the first period in this frantic bout and then secured a swift victory in the second period, winning 11-0. As a result, Di Benedetto earned the silver medal.
Rouleau, a member of the Edmonton Wrestling Club, earned her medal in the 72 kg weight class. She defeated Olesia Bezuglova (Independent Neutral Athletes) 2-1 by fall at the start of the competition. Then, she faced Yufei Gao from China, who was unable to continue because of an injury, and Rouleau advanced to the semifinals with a 4-0 lead. She earned her ticket to the finals by dominating Viktoryia Radzkova (Independent Neutral Athletes) in the semifinal, too.
In the finals, Rouleau faced American Kylie Welker, a former U20 World Champion and bronze medalist at the 2021 U23 World Championships. In this contest, Welker took an early lead and eventually defeated Rouleau, who had to accept silver as payment for the defeat.
Women’s Results
The rest of the results Canadian women had are rather good, too:
- Angelina Ellis-Toddington from Alberta – the 8th at 65 kg
- Mia Friesen from Ontario – the 9th at 57 kg
- Brianna Fraser from Ontario – the 9th at 76 kg
- Victoria Seal from Mission B.C. – the 12th at 55 kg
- Aleah Nickel from Saskatchewan – the 16th at 68 kg
- Kelyn Young from Ontario – the 18th at 50 kg
- Gabriela Cross – the 19th at 58 kg
These strong performances show Canadian women wrestlers’ talent and ability to compete internationally.
Men’s Results
When it comes to men, Owen Martin from British Columbia finished strong. Iran’s Mahdi Yousefihajivar, who won gold, defeated Martin in his first match at 79 kg. After being pulled back into the repechage, Martin defeated Ivan Harashuk (9-2) from Ukraine and Raffaele Matrullo (6-5) from Italy. He faced Japanese competitor Masaki Sato and won a bronze medal as a result. Regretfully, Owen finished 5th after his run ended with a loss to Sato.
Men’s results were strong in a general list, too:
- Dechlan Papadopoulos from Pickering, Ontario – the 12th at 74 kg
- Callum Knox from Kitchener, Ontario – the 12th at 97 kg
- Jorawar Dhinsa from Abbotsford, British Columbia – the 16th at 125 kg
- Taran Goring from Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta – the 19th at 86 kg
- Aidan Stevenson from Edmonton – the 19th at 92 kg
Canadian male wrestlers showed great skill, with Owen Martin earning a tough 5th place finish, while Dechlan Papadopoulos and Callum Knox both placed in the top 12 of their respective weight classes.
