News Page

More photos of the Women's Freestyle Finals(Fargo)

---------------------------------------

New Brunswick's Betts wins first women's wrestling gold at Canada Games

James Bisson
Canadian Press
August 19, 2005

REGINA (CP) - New Brunswick's Krista Betts is like any normal soft-spoken teenager - just don't mess with her on the wrestling mat.

Betts made history Thursday - all 85 pounds of her - as she became the first female wrestler to win individual gold at the Canada Games. The Bass River native ousted Ontario's Sabrina Manbahadur 14-0 in a quick final, capturing the under-40 kilogram title and giving New Brunswick its first medal of the Games.

A tearful Betts hugged her coach after the final whistle, then wrapped herself in her province's flag as hundreds of onlookers cheered her on.

"This means everything," said Betts, 15. "I've been waiting for this for so long. I can't even explain how good I feel right now."

Betts said the victory was even sweeter given New Brunswick's failure to reach the podium through the first 11 days of competition.

"I'm so proud to be from New Brunswick," said Betts. "Everyone takes New Brunswick for granted, since we're such a small province. I did it for myself, but I did it for my province."

Manbahadur, the two-time defending Ontario champion, was thrilled with her second-place result.

"Just being here is awesome," Manbahadur said. "I loved to get a medal, but I was just really happy to be here."

While they may not be as polished as their male counterparts, female wrestlers at the Canada Games proved they belong on the national stage. Former wrestler Christine Nordhagen said Canada has been producing top-calibre women's talent for years.

"I thought we had enough competitors for wrestling to be included in the last Canada Games," said Nordhagen, a six-time world champion. "But I'm glad they've finally added it."

Canada's international success on the mat was evident at the World University Games on Monday, where the women's wrestling team captured a staggering six medals. Include Tonya Verbeek's silver-medal performance at the 2004 Olympics in Athens - the first time medals were awarded in women's wrestling - and Canadian women are quickly building a reputation as some of the world's best.

"We have a lot of athletes that are getting to a high level in this sport," said Betts. "And there's a lot of potential with Canada's young wrestlers."

The inclusion of women's wrestling is significant not only for the sport - 30 individual medals were handed out in 10 weight classes - but for the Canada Games as well. There are now 14 medal sports for women athletes, compared to 15 for men, which makes the Games an equal opportunity for both genders to grab the spotlight.

"One of the basic tenets of the Games has been to have gender equity in all sports," said Bob Ellard, president of the Canada Summer Games board of directors. "The addition of women's wrestling was a great move by the National Wrestling Association. I know by talking to some of the spectators, the matches have been very exciting.

"It's certainly added another dimension to the Games."

Betts said she's hopeful her success at the Games can lead to bigger things down the road, like an appearance in the Olympics - a dream that, until last year, wasn't a possibility for any female wrestler.

"I think about it a little bit," said Betts. "This is a big step for me, and who knows, maybe I can go further in this sport."

-------------------------------------------------

First gold for women's wrestling

By JAMES BISSON 8/19/05

REGINA (CP) - New Brunswick's Krista Betts is like any normal soft-spoken teenager - just don't mess with her on the wrestling mat.

Betts made history Thursday - all 85 pounds of her - as she became the first female wrestler to win individual gold at the Canada Games. The Bass River native ousted Ontario's Sabrina Manbahadur 14-0 in a quick final, capturing the under-40 kilogram title and giving New Brunswick its first medal of the Games.

A tearful Betts hugged her coach after the final whistle, then wrapped herself in her province's flag as hundreds of onlookers cheered her on.

"This means everything," said Betts, 15. "I've been waiting for this for so long. I can't even explain how good I feel right now."

Betts said the victory was even sweeter given New Brunswick's failure to reach the podium through the first 11 days of competition.

"I'm so proud to be from New Brunswick," said Betts. "Everyone takes New Brunswick for granted, since we're such a small province. I did it for myself, but I did it for my province."

Manbahadur, the two-time defending Ontario champion, was thrilled with her second-place result.

"Just being here is awesome," Manbahadur said. "I loved to get a medal, but I was just really happy to be here."

While they may not be as polished as their male counterparts, female wrestlers at the Canada Games proved they belong on the national stage. Former wrestler Christine Nordhagen said Canada has been producing top-calibre women's talent for years.

"I thought we had enough competitors for wrestling to be included in the last Canada Games," said Nordhagen, a six-time world champion. "But I'm glad they've finally added it."

Canada's international success on the mat was evident at the World University Games on Monday, where the women's wrestling team captured a staggering six medals. Include Tonya Verbeek's silver-medal performance at the 2004 Olympics in Athens - the first time medals were awarded in women's wrestling - and Canadian women are quickly building a reputation as some of the world's best.

"We have a lot of athletes that are getting to a high level in this sport," said Betts. "And there's a lot of potential with Canada's young wrestlers."

The inclusion of women's wrestling is significant not only for the sport - 30 individual medals were handed out in 10 weight classes - but for the Canada Games as well. There are now 14 medal sports for women athletes, compared to 15 for men, which makes the Games an equal opportunity for both genders to grab the spotlight.

"One of the basic tenets of the Games has been to have gender equity in all sports," said Bob Ellard, president of the Canada Summer Games board of directors. "The addition of women's wrestling was a great move by the National Wrestling Association. I know by talking to some of the spectators, the matches have been very exciting.

"It's certainly added another dimension to the Games."

Betts said she's hopeful her success at the Games can lead to bigger things down the road, like an appearance in the Olympics - a dream that, until last year, wasn't a possibility for any female wrestler.

"I think about it a little bit," said Betts. "This is a big step for me, and who knows, maybe I can go further in this sport."

----------------------------------------------

Canada Summer Games
N.B. wrestler wins gold
Krista Betts leads provincial haul of three medals on the mat

SEAN HATCHARD 8/19/05
Times & Transcript Staff

REGINA - Krista Betts dreamed of this moment many nights.

She imagined standing on top of the medal podium, gold medal around her neck, waving a New Brunswick flag.

Last night she got to experience it for real.

Betts made history yesterday - all 85 pounds of her - as she became the first female wrestler to win individual gold at the Canada Summer Games.

The Bass River native blanked Sabrina Manbahadur of Ontario 14-0 in a tidy final, capturing the under-40 kilogram title and giving New Brunswick its first gold medal of the Games.

"This is way better than the dream," Betts, 15, said last night, the gold medal still around her neck.

"Actually doing it and winning gold is totally different. I'm just kind of still in shock, it hasn't sunk in yet, but I'm just so thrilled, so happy. I've wanted this for so long."

New Brunswick, shut out of the medals through the first 11 days of the competition, broke through with four medals yesterday.

The men's lightweight fours rowing team of Alex Hall of Rothesay and Dan Guest, Ben Mills and Mike Stockford of Saint John got it started with a silver.

Then the focus shifted to the wrestling mat. Betts claimed her gold medal and then Chris Deering of St. Stephen and Shawn LeBlanc of Bathurst each won silver medals.

Betts was the major story.

She tearfully hugged coach Pat Zwicker of St. Stephen after the final whistle, then wrapped herself in her province's flag as hundreds of onlookers cheered her on.

Betts said the victory was even sweeter given New Brunswick's struggle to come up with medals in Regina.

"I'm just so honoured to win for New Brunswick. I'm just glad I won gold, it's a big step for New Brunswick. There is hope," said Betts, a Grade 11 student at Bonar Law Memorial School in Rexton.

"I come from a really small town and I'm hoping this gives my town a little bit of a name. Wrestling isn't big in our province and this is definitely going to help, especially women's wrestling."

Betts spent almost the entire summer training in St. Stephen with New Brunswick men's coach Zwicker. It's that kind of dedication that got her the gold medal in Regina.

"St. Stephen was my home this summer. I didn't get home very much," Betts said.

"But it was all worth it. This makes everything I've gone through worth it. I'm so happy I did this."

Even though she was thousands of miles away in Regina last night, Betts was still thinking of her home province.

"I just want to thank my family, all my coaches back home, all my friends for supporting me," she said.

"This is a hard sport and you really have to be tough. Without that support and that drive, I wouldn't be here right now."

This marks the first time women's wrestling has been included in the Games. The New Brunswick women's coach is Moncton native Marcia Chiasson, who now lives in Fredericton.

---------------------------------------------------

Betts strikes gold for N.B.

Canadian Press Daily Gleaner | PORTS23
As published on page C1 on August 19, 2005

REGINA - New Brunswick's Krista Betts is like any normal soft-spoken teenager - just don't mess with her on the wrestling mat.

Betts made history Thursday - all 85 pounds of her - as she became the first female wrestler to win individual gold at the Canada Games. The Bass River native ousted Ontario's Sabrina Manbahadur 14-0 in a quick final, capturing the under-40 kilogram title and giving New Brunswick its first medal of the Games.

A tearful Betts hugged her coach after the final whistle, then wrapped herself in her province's flag as hundreds of onlookers cheered her on.

"This means everything," said Betts, 15. "I've been waiting for this for so long. I can't even explain how good I feel right now."

Betts said the victory was even sweeter given New Brunswick's failure to reach the podium through the first 11 days of competition.

"I'm so proud to be from New Brunswick," said Betts. "Everyone takes New Brunswick for granted, since we're such a small province. I did it for myself, but I did it for my province."

Manbahadur, the two-time defending Ontario champion, was thrilled with her second-place result.

"Just being here is awesome," Manbahadur said. "I loved to get a medal, but I was just really happy to be here."

While they may not be as polished as their male counterparts, female wrestlers at the Canada Games proved they belong on the national stage. Former wrestler Christine Nordhagen said Canada has been producing top-calibre women's talent for years.

"I thought we had enough competitors for wrestling to be included in the last Canada Games," said Nordhagen, a six-time world champion. "But I'm glad they've finally added it."

Canada's international success on the mat was evident at the World University Games on Monday, where the women's wrestling team captured a staggering six medals. Include Tonya Verbeek's silver-medal performance at the 2004 Olympics in Athens - the first time medals were awarded in women's wrestling - and Canadian women are quickly building a reputation as some of the world's best.

"We have a lot of athletes that are getting to a high level in this sport," said Betts. "And there's a lot of potential with Canada's young wrestlers."

The inclusion of women's wrestling is significant not only for the sport - 30 individual medals were handed out in 10 weight classes - but for the Canada Games as well. There are now 14 medal sports for women athletes, compared to 15 for men, which makes the Games an equal opportu nity for both genders to grab the spotlight.

"One of the basic tenets of the Games has been to have gender equity in all sports," said Bob Ellard, president of the Canada Summer Games board of directors. "The addition of women's wrestling was a great move by the National Wrestling Association. I know by talking to some of the spectators, the matches have been very exciting.

"It's certainly added another dimension to the Games."

----------------------------------------------

Canadians win medals at World University Games in Turkey

WebPosted Mon, 15 Aug 2005 20:12:23 EDT
CBC Sports

Canadians won seven medals at the World University Games in Turkey on Monday, including three gold. Prior to Monday's rush to the podium, Canada had captured just one silver and a bronze.

Canada's Tonya Verbeek wins silver

Six of Canada's medals came on the wrestling mat. Freestyle wrestlers Carol Huynh of Burnaby, B.C., (48 kilograms) and Ohenewa Akuffo of Brampton, Ont., (72 kg) led the way with gold medals.

Huynh defeated Yuri Funatsu 2-0 in the gold-medal match. Akuffo pinned her first two opponents before defeating Kateryna Burmistrova of Ukraine 2-0 to win gold.

Olympic silver medallist Tonya Verbeek of Beamsville, Ont., was one of two silver medallists Monday, losing to Saori Yoshida of Japan in the final of the 55-kg division. Yoshida also defeated Verbeek in the gold-medal match of the 2004 Olympics.

Lyndsay Belisle of Burnaby (51 kg) also won silver, while Breanne Graham of Calgary (59 kg) and Stefanie Howorun of Brampton (67 kg) earned bronze.

Gymnast Brandon O'Neill also won gold in the men's individual floor competition with a score of 9.662.

University Worlds - Canadian Women Win 6 Medals

2005-08-15

Womens Team Standings:

Team Scoring
1. Japan, 59 pts.
2. Canada, 54
3. Ukraine, 47
4. United States, 36
5. Belarus, 34
6. Korea, 30
7. Turkey, 25
8. Poland, 24
9. Mongolia, 22
10. Russia, 14

48Kg

Gold Carol Huynh Canada W (7-0) (2-0)
Silver Yuri Funatsu Japan
Bronze Oleksandra Kohut Ukraine
Bronze Sara Fulp-Allen USA

51Kg

Gold Irini Melini Ukraine
Silver Lyndsay Belisle Canada L (1-0) (5-0)
Bronze Mary Kelly USA
Bronze Alena Kareisha Belarus

55Kg

Gold Saori Yoshida Japan
Silver Tonya Verbeek Canada L (1-0) (2-0)
Bronze Marcie Van Dusen USA
Bronze Olha Levkovska Ukraine

59Kg

Gold Ayako Shoda Japan
Silver Justina Barciak Poland
Bronze Breanne Graham Canada W (over Ukraine) (3-0) (1-0)
Bronze Yeon Mi Lee Korea

63Kg

Gold Kaori Icho Japan
Silver Volha Khilko Belarus
Bronze Alaine Berube USA
Bronze Maryem Selloum France
7th or 8th Tara Hedican L (Repachage vs Mongolia) (by fall and is not in the top 10)

67kg

Gold Mami Shinkai Japan
Silver Hatun Muhcu Turkey
Bronze Stephanie Howrun Canada W (over Mongolia) (1-0) (0-1) (1-0)
Bronze Natalia Kysina Russia

72Kg

Gold Ohenawa Akuffo Canada W (1-0) (3-0)
Silver Kateryna Burmastrova Ukraine
Bronze Ayako Murashima Japan
Bronze Agnieszka Weiszczek Poland

Tonya Verbeek Updated