Tonya Verbeek

Biography

A three-time Olympian and a three-time freestyle wrestling 55kg medallist, Tonya Verbeek is officially the most decorated Canadian wrestler of all-time. Verbeek captured her third medal in London, narrowly missing out on gold.

Verbeek earned a berth on the London team after placing second at the 2011 World Championships in the 55kg division. Born in Grimsby, Ontario, the legendary Canadian wrestler captured an Olympic silver medal in the 55kg weight class in Athens in 2004 and followed that up with a bronze medal in the same weight class at the Beijing 2008 Games.

Her second-place finish in 2004 made her Canada’s first-ever Olympic medallist in women’s wrestling.

In 2011, Verbeek won silver at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara to add to the bronze medal that she won in 2007 in Rio de Janeiro. Verbeek also holds two bronze medals from the World Championships in 2005 and 2009 and a 2010 Commonwealth Games silver.

The 11-time national champion has her Masters in Education from Brock University.