Files from Wrestling Canada - Canadian wrestler Jessica MacDonald won the bronze medal in the freestyle women's 51 kg weight class at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, on Wednesday, winning her third consecutive medal at this prestigious event.
MacDonald, the reigning World Champion in the 51 kg weight class, started her tournament with a bang by winning her first three matches 7-0 (vs Tjapico, LAT, in 29 seconds), 8-5 (vs Miyahara, JPN) and 8-0 (vs Sambou, SEN), qualifying for the semifinals.
In that match, facing Yanan Sun of China, the eventual World Champion, MacDonald lost her match 7-0, moving on to the bronze medal match.
Facing Ukraine's Yuliya Blanhinya, MacDonald showed poise and confidence, taking the victory and the bronze medal by defeating her opponent 8-6. MacDonald had a slow start to this match, trailing 0-4 at half-time. In the second of two periods, MacDonald came back from a 6-2 deficit and scored 6 unanswered points, including two in the last second of the match, to take the bronze medal.
"Today was not my best day of wrestling and even though it was a hard day, I persevered and am happy with the bronze medal" said MacDonald, who wrestles for the Brock Wrestling Club in St-Catharines, ON, coached by
Marty Calder, who noted "that Jessica showed guts and determination in her performance".
This bronze medal is MacDonald's third straight medal at FILA World Championships, after winning the gold medal in 2012 (Strathcona County, CAN) and the bronze medal in 2011 (Istanbul, TUR).
MacDonald is enjoying a fruitful season, having won medals at every event in which she participated, taking gold notably at the World Cup, Pan-American Championships, Grand Prix of Spain and at the Battle At the Falls.
MacDonald is only one of three Canadian women wrestlers who won a world title, along with Martine Dugrenier and Christine Nordhagen-Vierling. In the rich history of the sport at these Senior World Championships, Canada won a total of ten World Titles (MacDonald 1, DuGrenier 3, Nordhagen-Vierling 6). Canadian women have won a total of 37 medals (10 Gold, 11 Silver, 16 Bronze).
