Strathcona County, Alberta – Brock University women's wrestler Jessica MacDonald, a native of Windsor, Ontario, captured a gold medal in the 51kg weight class at the 2012 Women's World Championships tonight at the Millennium Place.
MacDonald joins a select group of Canadian wrestlers to win gold at the worlds and made history tonight becoming Brock Wrestling Club's first ever World Champion.
"Brock University is very proud of Jessica's gold medal performance tonight on Canadian soil," said Brock Director of Athletics Robert Hilson. "She has demonstrated excellence over the past few years internationally and to capture gold and become Brock's first ever World Champion is something she will remember forever. She joins an elite group of Canadian wrestlers to reach this accomplishment."
MacDonald opened the day with a 2-0 victory over the defending world champion Zamira Rakhmanova from Russia winning (2-1, 7-0) to advance to the semi-finals. In the semis, MacDonald defeated India's Kumari Babita in two straight rounds by scores of (6-0, 4-2).
In the gold medal match against China's Yanan Sun, the first ever match between the two, MacDonald got behind 1-0 early in round one and scored with 30 seconds left to win 1-1. In round two, MacDonald trailed 2-0, but answered with the final four points for the 4-2 victory and the world title.
"Jessica had a phenomenal performance in all three matches today at the world championship," said Brock wrestling head coach Marty Calder. "She has worked so hard to reach her goal and to be part of it is very special."
This is MacDonald's second straight world championship medal as she captured bronze in Istanbul (2011). She also captured a bronze medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.
At 59kg, Brock's Michelle Fazzari lost her opening match in three rounds (0-1, 1-0, 1-3) to Mongolia's Munkhtuya Tungalag.
Brock wrestling is Canada's top wrestling program over the past 20 years having captured 15 CIS National Championships and 30 OUA Championships. They have produced seven Olympians, including three-time Olympic medalist Tonya Verbeek and now a World Champion, Jessica MacDonald.
