News Page

Women wrestlers debut in East Asia Games

Indiatimes News 5/26/2001

OSAKA: Don't even mention mud to Kyoko Hamaguchi. This is legit. It's a sport. It may even be on its way to the Olympics.

"Being a wrestler isn't easy," Hamaguchi said on Friday, an East Asian Games gold medal dangling from her neck. "We put in a lot of hard work."

Hamaguchi led a Japanese romp in the debut of women's freestyle wrestling in the games, which include athletes from 10 countries in the region.

"We're very strong," she said.

Though new to these games, women's wrestling is on the rise worldwide. And with around 50 countries supporting teams, hopes are high in the wrestling community that it will soon win a berth on the Olympic roster.

If it does, Japan - with its strong tradition of judo and where women's professional wrestling is popular late-night TV fare - is likely to be a force to be reckoned with.

At the first world championships of women's wrestling, held in Switzerland in 1989, Japan won three of the nine weight classes, and placed in the top six in the others.

At the East Asian Games, Japan is doing it again.

The host country picked up its third, fourth and fifth golds on Friday, the final day of wrestling competition. Hamaguchi, a three-time world champion, took the gold in the 75-kilogram division, Rena Iwama won at 62-kilograms, and Hitomi Sakamoto took the 51-kilogram division.

For Hamaguchi, 23, becoming a wrestler meant following in her father's footsteps.

She is the daughter of "Animal" Hamaguchi, a well-known professional wrestler in Japan.

"Wrestling seemed like a very natural thing for me to do," she said. "It appeals to me because it is something in which you can face up to a challenge and beat it."

Although she began training with weights at the age of 13 in hopes of joining the ranks of Japan's women pro wrestlers, she later chose to stick with the amateur competitions.

The East Asian Games are her first international competition since she took third place at the world championships last year. She is hoping to regain her title in this year's worlds, to be held in September.

Athens, she hopes, will also be in her future.

"There is a lot of talk about women's wrestling being in the Olympics in Athens" in 2004, she said. "I don't know what will happen, but I'd realy love to compete there." (AP)

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

London teen has her eye on mat success

By MORRIS DALLA COSTA -- London Free Press

4/28/2001

Gillian McCallum has never backed away from a challenge. She's a well-spoken, confident 15-year-old who has a pretty clear idea of where she wants to be in two years.

"I'm in Grade 10 this year so I hope to be top-three at Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) next year," McCallum said. "It would be nice to have an OFSAA medal. In Grade 12, I'd like to win OFSAA. That's my long-term goal and I think I can achieve that. I've wrestled the OFSAA champion many times and I've beat her once."

McCallum is a wrestler and a pretty good one. She won a bronze medal at the 2001 cadet female national championship in Saskatoon recently. She competed in the juvenile 70-kilogram division. It was the highest national-level competition in which she has participated.

McCallum is one of those athletes in whom competitive fires burn deep. She attends Oakridge secondary school, which does not have a wrestling team. So she trains at Saunders secondary school with Saunders wrestlers and their coach, Harry Geris. Geris is also coach for the Amateur Wrestlers of London, the club McCallum wrestles with. Since her school has no wrestling club, she often trains alone or with her brother. She also works out with the boys' rugby team.

But since her goal is OFSAA, she plans to transfer to Saunders next year to compete with that school's wrestling team. In her short athletic career, she played football with the London Minor Football Association, two years ago was the starting defensive tackle on the Oaks junior football team, played competitive rugby and competitive fastball.

"I won't be playing football any more because the boys are getting really big. I'm only going to be able to play house league fastball because I just don't have the time for the competitive fastball," McCallum said. "Wrestling is the sport I prefer. What I need to get now is more mat time. I need the experience from the high school tournaments."

It is one of the most brutally demanding individual sports. McCallum is fortunate she often trains with Londoner Katie Patroch, a national-calibre junior wrestler in the 58-kilogram class.

"She's so talented, she's taught me a lot," said McCallum. "It really benefited me, especially with the technical ability. Just watching her do moves helped me. She's going to try for the national team and I hope she makes it. That means I can learn a lot more from her."

In Saskatoon, McCallum had to battle hard, not only physically but mentally.

"My first match was against last year's national champion who was wrestling in her home town," said McCallum. "It was tough. I was up 5-0 and unfortunately I was really nervous and I wound up losing that match. That dropped me into the loser's side of the bracket. The mental aspect was hard. You know that you've already lost once and if you lose again you're done.

"But I fought my way back. I wound up facing her again for third and I won. We went into overtime. I should have beaten her the first time. Finishing third gave me some recognition in the wrestling community."

It was a successful tournament for other Londoners as well. The London Amateur Wrestling and Athletic Club finished third as a club in juvenile female. Tara Rutherford won bronze in the 48-kilogram division and Andrea Ross a silver in the 52-kilogram category.

They had two fourth-place finishers -- Laura Skopelianos in 46-kilogram and Lauren Radoja in 60-kilogram. Mark Crockett was fifth in the male juvenile 54-kilogram division.

"I heard that the 2005 Canada Summer Games may have women's wrestling," McCallum said. "Then there's the chance that women's wrestling will be a demonstrator sport in the Olympics."

For McCallum, there's always something to look forward to.

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