#CanadaWrestling

Former world champion Di Stasio of Canada retires

Thursday, March 13, 2025 - 17:45 By United World Wrestling Press

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OTTAWA, Canada (March 13) -- After nearly 15 years of representing Canada, Justina DI STASIO (CAN) has decided to retire.

During her career, Di Stasio built an impressive resume that will go down as one of the all-time greats in Canadian wrestling history. The 32-year-old represented Canada at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Di Stasio won gold medal at the World Championship in 2018, a Pan-American Games gold medal in 2019 and Commonwealth Games gold in 2022. In addition, she is a multiple-time Pan-Am Championships gold medalist.

While there have been many memorable moments, a few stood out to Di Stasio, including her start with the national team, her win at the 2018 worlds, being coached on the national team by two-time Olympic medalist Tonya VERBEEK (CAN), and making her first Olympics in 2024.

“Winning worlds was a special moment, especially because I could hear my parents cheering from the stands," Di Stasio said. "It reminded me of my tournaments as a kid. It also helped me frame everything in my life better. I realized it is about the journey and not the destination. It was amazing to feel the way I did on that one day, but it was only one day. I had worked so hard in the lead up, but I realized I had to enjoy those days too. I still wanted to be the best in the world and I never didn’t train like it, but from that point, I made sure to enjoy my wrestling every day.”

That love for the sport kept Di Stasio going despite setbacks that stalled her dream of competing at the Olympics. After failing to qualify for the Rio and Tokyo Games, Di Stasio qualified for Paris 2024, eventually finishing 12th.

“Making it to the Olympics came with lots of pressure, but good pressure. I had won everything else and trained every day thinking I could be an Olympic champion. Even though it was a heart-breaking result, I know I couldn’t have worked harder and that helped me accept the result. I would have loved to make it there when I was younger, but I think I needed to be more mature to handle the result.”

Read full news on Wrestling Canada Lutte website.

Austria Develops Wrestling Future at UWW Performance Centre A.C. Wals

Wednesday, June 17, 2026 - 08:50 By

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WALS-SIEZENHEIM, Austria (June 16) -- Anyone in Wals-Siezenheim, Austria, looking for the local wrestling centre is directed towards the fire station. Standing in front of it, you look up at the tall tower where the hoses are hung up to dry after call-outs, and at the garages housing the emergency vehicles. But the floor above the firefighters belongs to the wrestlers.

The training centre of wrestling champions A.C. Wals was inaugurated in 1994, completely renovated in 2022 and, a year later, declared the sixth United World Wrestling training centre worldwide by UWW President Nenad LALOVIC.

The former mayor of Wals-Siezenheim, Ludwig BIERINGER, visits the training centre almost daily and can recount stories about the development of the wrestling venue, as well as the sporting stronghold of Wals-Siezenheim, home to the Red Bull family.

His words, "if, by building the wrestling centre, we manage to keep even one young person away from drugs, then this investment will have been worth it,” are likely to hold just as much significance today as they did 32 years ago, when the training hall was completed.

h In Austria, wrestlers are battling against the dominance of winter sports; whilst every child knows the ski jumpers, downhill and slalom skiers, wrestlers have to work incredibly hard to also make it into the spotlight of the mainstream media.

In Toni MARCHL, the Austrian Wrestling Federation has a dedicated and passionate leader who has given himself fully to the growth of the sport. His extensive network spans business, politics, and the highest levels of international sport, including UWW European Council President Karl Martin Dittmann and UWW President Lalovic, with whom he has built a strong and trusted relationship.

AC WalsFitness centre at A.C. Wals. (Photo: Austrian National Wrestling Centre)

Back to the training centre in Wals, which was designated a UWW higperformance centre in 2022, wrestlers from all over the world now come together to train. This naturally also benefits the ORSV wrestlers, who can now train alongside the world’s best on a selective basis – and do so at home, on their own mats. What’s more, thanks to the efforts of ORSV wrestlers can now be found in positions supported by the sports programme within the army, as well as in the police, judiciary and customs services.

A small boarding school accommodates male and female athletes from all over Austria who combine school, vocational training or work with the demands of competitive sport in Wals-Siezenheim, whilst also travelling there on an ad hoc basis for centralised training sessions.

A large team of coaches has also been established to pass on their experience to the wrestlers. Georg MARCHL (Freestyle), Jeno BODI and Amer HRUSTANOVIC (Greco-Roman), and Elena PITTL (Women's Wrestling) lead a well-trained and dedicated team of coaches, supported and supervised by sports director Benedikt ERNST, and trained in collaboration with former German heavyweight wrestler Sven THIELE. The medical sector is also well-equipped in Wals-Siezenheim, with physiotherapy and sports medicine staff.

AC WalsA.C. Wals

The UWW Performance Centre is having an impact on the larger Austrian clubs and federations, which are following its example in developing talent under ever-improving conditions, so that an ever-stronger elite is emerging from the existing base. But no champion falls from the sky, no talent becomes a world champion overnight; everything takes time.

The ORSV is firmly committed to the long-term development of its athletes, investing in homegrown talent and building a sustainable future for Austrian wrestling. This philosophy is reflected in the growth of wrestlers such as Markus RAGGINER, Daniel GASTL, Simon MARCHL, Benjamin GREIL, Johannes LUDESCHER, Aker ACHMIDT and, last but not least, 10-time international medallist Martina KUENZ.

Projects like the UWW Performance Centre in Wals-Siezenheim represent exactly the kind of investment that nurtures the next generation, creates lasting foundations for the sport, and ensures that Austria's wrestling future is built from within.

 - by Jorg RITCHER, Ringsport Magazine