Justina Di Stasio wins gold for Canada at 2018 World Wrestling Championships in Hungary

Justina Di Stasio (Wikimedia Commons)

Justina Di Stasio of Burnaby, British Columbia won a gold medal for Canada on Wednesday at the 2018 World Wrestling Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Di Stasio won the gold medal in the women’s 72 kilogram division. It was one of three medals won by Canadian women on Wednesday as Danielle Lappage of Olds, Alberta won silver in the women’s 63 kilogram division and Canadian Olympic gold medalist Erica Wiebe of Stittsville, Ontario won bronze in the women’s 76 kilogram division.

In the women’s 72 kilogram division, Di Stasio defeated Ochirbatyn Nasanburmaa of Mongolia 4-2 in the gold medal match. She also beat Alexandra Anghel of Romania 10-0 in the round of 16, Martina Kuenz of Austria 6-3 in the quarterfinals and Samar Amer of Egypt 6-0 in the semifinals. Kuenz and Buse Tosun of Turkey each won the bronze medal.

In the women’s 63 kilogram division, Lappage lost 6-5 to gold medalist Petra Olli of Finland in the gold medal match. Lappage beat Maria Kuznetsova of Russia 14-1 in the round of 32, Khurelkhuugiin Bolortuyaa of Mongolia 10-0 in the round of 16, Forrest Molinari 6-2 in the quarterfinals and Irina Netreba of Azerbaijan 11-0 in the semifinals. Netreba and Ayana Gempei of Japan each won the bronze medal.

In the women’s 76 kilogram division, Wiebe beat Epp Mae of Estonia 4-0 in the bronze medal match. She beat Pa Liha of China 3-0 in the round of 16 and Aline Focken of Germany 6-4 in the quarterfinals before losing 3-1 to Adeline Gray of the United States in the semifinals. Gray won the gold medal, Yasemin Adar of Turkey won the silver medal and Hiroe Minagawa of Japan won the other bronze medal.

It was Di Stasio’s second career medal at the World Wrestling Championships. She previously won a bronze medal at the 2017 World Wrestling Championships in Paris. It was Wiebe’s first world championship medal. She won gold in women’s wrestling at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The medals for Di Stasio, Lappage and Wiebe will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. 

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