#BeachWrestling

African Beach Games: Olympic medalist Oborududu solid on sand

Thursday, June 29, 2023 - 20:52 By Vinay Siwach

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HAMMAMET, Tunisia (June 29) -- Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR), an Olympic silver medalist, has achieved remarkable feats on the wrestling mat.

At the African Championships in women's wrestling, the 34-year-old holds the record for the most gold medals, with 12. In Tokyo, she became the first African woman wrestler to reach an Olympic final, making her one of the best among wrestlers who have wrestled on the mat.

However, on Wednesday, Oborududu stepped onto the sands for the first time and returned home with a gold medal at the 2nd African Beach Games in Hammamet, Tunisia.

Despite being a regular in Olympic wrestling at 68kg, Oborududu decided to represent Nigeria in Hammamet, where Beach Wrestling made its debut on the African Beach Games program.

Read: Traditional Wrestling Hotbed Senegal Dominates African Beach Games 

While most victories in Beach Wrestling resemble Olympic wrestling, there are a few differences. In Beach Wrestling, a throw awards three points, ending the bout. If a throw is not executed, the bout continues for the stipulated three minutes. The wrestler who accumulates at least three points before their opponent is declared the winner.

Oborududu achieved this in three of her four bouts. She made her debut against Erica NGAKALI (CGO) in Round 1 and had no trouble defeating Ngakali 3-0 to secure victory via superiority.

In her next match against Patricia ELNOUR (SUD), Oborududu triumphed 3-1, advancing to the semifinal against Anta SAMBOU (SEN). Despite facing a challenge and giving up two points, Oborududu held on for a 3-2 victory, securing her spot in the final against Amy YOUIN (CIV).

Youin, who had not conceded a single point in the group stages and the semifinal, scored two points against Oborududu in the final. However, Oborududu used her experience and strength to defeat Youin 3-2, capturing Nigeria's first-ever gold medal in Beach Wrestling at the African Beach Games.

Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) made a golden debut at African Beach Games in Hammamet. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

"Another gold in the bag!," Oborududu wrote on her Instagram. "Glory to God for yet another addition and new win in my career. This win is quite personal to me, as this is my first hand trying beach wrestling. I stepped on the sand with hope as usual. 'Well, I'm here to wrestle yeah, so let me give it my best shot like I always do on the mat' I said to myself. And guess what? I won gold in the ongoing African Beach Wrestling (Games), Tunisia 2023."

This marked the beginning of Nigeria's gold rush, as they went on to win two more gold medals in women's Beach Wrestling. The only weight class in which Nigeria failed to win gold was at 70kg, where Safietou GOUDIABY (SEN) claimed the top spot.

Miesinnei GENEISI (NGR)Miesinnei GENEISI (NGR) made a perfect run to the 50kg gold at the African Beach Games. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

At 50kg, Commonwealth Games and African champion Miesinnei GENEISI (NGR) showcased her dominance, winning all her bouts without conceding a single point.

Geneisi, who had previously won the African Beach Championships in May, began with a 3-0 victory against Emma WANGILA (KEN) in Round 1. She followed it up with a similar scoreline, defeating Cheima CHEBILA (ALG) in Round 2. When Mbuka CAROLINA (ANG) withdrew due to injury in Round 3, Geneisi was declared the winner after three wins in the round-robin bracket involving five wrestlers.

Nahamie SAMBOU (SEN) secured two wins, earning the silver medal, while Cheima CHEBILA (ALG) won the bronze after defeating Wangila in the Round 3 bout.

Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR)Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR) won the gold medal at 60kg at the 2nd African Beach Games. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

Another African champion who won a gold medal was Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR) in the 60kg weight class. While not as dominant as her compatriots, she managed to win gold with close victories.

Kolawole began with a 3-0 win over Siwar BOUSETA (TUN) but encountered difficulty in a 2-1 win against Nogona BAKAYOKO (CIV) in Round 2. Mame SAMBOU (SEN) also put up a fight, but Kolawole emerged victorious with a 2-1 scoreline, securing her place in the semifinal. Emily WANYAMA (KEN) proved no match for Kolawole, who won 3-0 via a fall to advance to the final.

Chaimaa AOUISSI (ALG) provided a formidable challenge in the final, but she was unable to overcome the 1-0 deficit. Kolawole secured the victory and the gold medal with a 1-0 scoreline.

Safietou GOUDIABY (SEN)Safietou GOUDIABY (SEN) won the 70kg gold after beating Bea MEIRING (RSA) in the final. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

Maintaining a clean slate, Goudiaby emerged as the champion in the 70kg weight class. Goudiaby only had to wrestle one bout to reach the semifinal, as her first opponent, Winrose ALIVISA (KEN), withdrew due to an injury sustained in a previous bout.

In the semifinal, Goudiaby prevented Faiza AOUALI (ALG) from scoring and won 2-0, securing her place in the final against Bea MEIRING (RSA), who defeated Olympian Khadija JLASSI (TUN) 4-1 in the other semifinal.

Meiring, however, struggled in the final against Goudiaby who won 3-0, a victory by superiority.

Both Nigeria and Senegal ended with 75 points each in the team titles. However, with two extra gold medals than Senegal, Nigeria was declared the team title winner while Senegal finished second. Algeria, with 47 points, finished third.

RESULTS

50kg
GOLD: Miesinnei GENEISI (NGR)
SILVER: Nahamie SAMBOU (SEN)
BRONZE: Cheima CHEBILA (ALG)

60kg
GOLD: Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR) df. Chaimaa AOUISSI (ALG), 1-0

BRONZE: Mame SAMBOU (SEN) df. Emily WANYAMA (KEN), 3-1

70kg
GOLD: Safietou GOUDIABY (SEN) df. Bea MEIRING (RSA), 3-0

BRONZE: Khadija JLASSI (TUN) df. Faiza AOUALI (ALG), 3-0

+70kg
GOLD: Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) df. Amy YOUIN (CIV), 3-2

BROZE: Anta SAMBOU (SEN) df. Erica NGAKALI (CGO), via fall

#WrestleAmman

Coles, Canada's first U17 world champ, wants to be an inspiration

Tuesday, December 17, 2024 - 15:38 By Vinay Siwach

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CANADA (December 16) -- "I am not a natural athlete." That's how Kaura COLES (CAN) describes herself. 

The 17-year-old seems to have as much clarity describing herself as she does wrestling on the mat.

She may not be the be a "natural", but she is the best in the world. At the U17 World Championships in Amman, Jordan, Coles became the first Canadian wrestler to win a gold medal. She won gold in the 53kg women's wrestling weight class.

But the odds did not favor Coles. No Canadian wrestler had reached the final at the U17 Worlds, forget winning gold. The last time Canada had a U20 or U17 world champ was in 2013. Coming into the tournament, Coles had a silver medal from the 2022 U17 Pan-Am Championships and a fifth-place finish at the Spain Grand Prix. 

So Coles wasn't favored to win a medal. Nor were the other seven Canadians entered. However, Coles did it. She was so precise in her wrestling, that her opponents were shocked to see her counter from negative positions.

Coles' win was one of the highlights of international wrestling in 2024 and a big boost for Canada and its wrestling after its medalless Olympics in Paris.

"I did not expect to do as well as I did,” she said later. “I can't predict the outcome of the match. The only thing I know for sure is that I'm going to work as hard as I possibly can every match."

In Amman, Coles began with two pins over Madkhiya USMANOV (KAZ) and Chloe BREWIS (RSA). She then went on to upset MUSKAN (IND) 12-3 in the quarterfinals, Isabelle GONZALES (USA) 8-3 in the semifinals and securing a fall in the finals against Nana KOZUKA (JPN), undeterred by names or a Japanese opponent.

Coles began wrestling when she was 11 years old when her father, Cory, took her to the gym because he did not want her to just sit around all day. Kaura is one of the 11 Coles siblings from Winnipeg. She is number six with five younger siblings and she coaches them as well.

"If you had watched me wrestling four years ago, you would have never thought I could have achieved anything. Worst wrestler by far," Coles told FloWrestling. "But I knew how to do a 2-on-1. So every match, every practice, I would be grabbing a 2-on-1. For six years I have been doing that and just developed and became very good from that position. [I do well] Tying up with people. I don't do well from space since I am a slow wrestler. I want to get an underhook or a 2-on-1."

She worked hard. Having wrestler siblings around her improved her as she had to keep up with the sibling rivalries growing in the house.

"I have to be a tough wrestler just to survive every day [with my brother]," she said. "But they all wrestled, my sisters wrestle too. Everyone works hard and it makes it a lot easier"

But in the beginning, Coles did not like the sport or working hard to be better at it.

“I did not like it at first because it’s a very hard sport," Coles told The Free Press. "Back then, I didn’t really like hard work because it’s hard to like that. But over time, I saw the benefits of putting in the hard work and seeing where it can get you."

Kaura COLES (CAN)Kaura COLES (CAN) defeated Nana KOZUKA (JPN) in the final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

So far, wrestling has made Coles a three-time national wrestling champion, U17 Pan-American silver medalist, North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) champion and of course, world champion.

But Coles wants to do more. As a Métis herself, she wants to inspire, coach, and promote Indigenous groups.

"I want to be an inspiration for the other Indigenous and Métis warriors in Canada," Coles said after winning the gold. "I don't wrestle for myself."

Coles' mother Michelle is a Métis, an Indigenous group in Canada, and has kept their culture in the house including learning French. Coles wore her Métis sash after the medal ceremony at the U17 Worlds.

"I wear my Métis sash whenever I can," she said. "I have other Indigenous people come up to me and tell me how I have inspired them. I'm so glad that I was able to represent."

Another one of Coles' is to be at the Olympics. Canada has won six medals at the Olympics in Women's Wrestling. But the last came in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

"My goal is to go to the next Olympics when I'm 21 years old and then I want to go to the Olympics after that," she said. "Then I will retire."