March 14, 2012

In Grade 11, Tonya Verbeek started wrestling because she wanted to try something different and the rest of the story is history.

After making the national team at 17 and representing Canada at the worlds in 1995, Verbeek clinched a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics and followed that with a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

This summer she is looking forward to traveling to London, England looking for her third Olympic medal.

”I’m super excited for London,” said the Beamsville native. “I am really looking forward to competing and enjoying everything I can leading into the Olympics. I am sticking to the training plan and my program. Training smart and doing everything I can to get myself prepared.”

When she is not training, Verbeek relaxes stretching her limbs in a yoga class, hanging out with family, going on hikes with her dog named Winnie, and watching good movies and television series.

Some interesting things you might not know about Verbeek are that she spent 10 years on a skipping team, she love kids and animals, is a sucker for romantic movies and her nickname is Beeker. 

Verbeek has always trained under former Olympian and present Brock University wrestling coach Marty Calder. She is really looking forward to competing in Brock’s gym and having family, friends, and supporters around.

“It’s a good prep tournament for London,” she said.

In the long run, Verbeek has a game plan that she implements every day of her life to maintain a training schedule that has produced such outstanding results.

“I love what I do and I’ve always been the type to think of my career as stepping stones... one step at a time to get where I need to be,” she said. 

“It also helps because I have a great training environment and team to be apart of. And probably because I’m a bit crazy.”

There is also an important variable that Verbeek believes has added to her success as a person and on the wrestling mat. 

”I am thankful for having so many great people in my life!”