Tonya Verbeek

Tina George took control of Tonya Verbeek (below) at the 2003 Pan American Games

Tonya Verbeek medal table
Wrestler
Canada
Olympic games
silver	2004 Athens	up to 55 kg
bronze	2008 Beijing	up to 55 kg
silver	2012 London	up to 55 kg
World Championship
bronze	2005 Budapest	up to 55 kg
bronze	2009 Herning	up to 55 kg
silver	2011 Istanbul	up to 55 kg
Pan American Games
silver	2003 Santo Domingo	up to 55 kg
bronze	2007 Rio de Janeiro	up to 55 kg
silver	2011 Guadalajara	up to 55 kg
Pan American Championships
gold	2003 Guatemala City	up to 55 kg
gold	2008	up to 55 kg
Universiade
silver	2005 Izmir	up to 55 kg
Universities World Championship
bronze	2003 Edmonton	up to 55 kg
Commonwealth Games
silver	2010 New Delhi	up to 59 kg

Tonya Verbeek (born August 14, 1977 in Grimsby , Ontario ) is a Canadian wrestler . She won a silver medal at the 2004 and 2012 Olympic Games and a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games , each in the weight class up to 55 kg.

Career

Tonya Verbeek grew up in Beamsville , Ontario, where she still lives. She attended Beamsville High School and began wrestling as a teenager. Her trainer was Dave Collie. After high school, she attended Brock University in St Catharines, Ontario. She became a member of the Brock University Wrestling Club , and later the Niagara Olympic Wrestling Club . In the Canadian national wrestling team Marty Calder was added as a coach.

In 1994 she was Canadian runner-up in the weight class up to 57 kg and then in 1955 for the first time Canadian champion in the same weight class. After this early success, she was only able to become Canadian champion again in 2005 in the weight class up to 55 kg. Between 1996 and 2005, she was also among the top Canadian classes, but mostly finished 2nd or 3rd in the Canadian championships. It was Erica Sharp or Jennifer Ryz who placed in front of her in those years.

As a Canadian champion, she was used for the first time in 1995 at an international championship, the World Cup in Moscow . As an 18-year-old newcomer, she took an excellent 5th place in the weight class up to 57 kg. In 2002 she came in third place at the Universities World Championship in Edmonton in the weight class up to 55 kg, behind perhaps the world's best wrestler Seiko Yamamoto from Japan and Sun Dongmei from China . In 2003 she won the Pan American Championship in Guatemala City ahead of Tina George from the United States a. Marcia Andrade Mendoza from Venezuela , but had to be content with second place behind Tina George at the Pan American Games in 2003 in Santo Domingo .

In 2004 Tonya Verbeek succeeded in asserting herself against Erica Sharp and Jennifer Ryz in the Canadian Olympic elimination . In the subsequent Olympic qualification tournaments in Tunis and Madrid , she managed to secure a place at the Olympic Games in Athens. In Athens, she fought her way into the final with victories over Tela O'Donnell from the United States, Olga Smirnowa from Russia and Ida-Theres Nerell from Sweden , in which, however, she had no chance against Saori Yoshida. Nevertheless, she celebrated a great success by winning the Olympic silver medal .

In 2005 she won a medal at the World Championships in Budapest . She won there over Lee Na-lae from South Korea , Tina George and Jessica Bechtel from Germany , lost to Saori Yoshida and won a World Cup with a superior win over Ludmila Cristea from Romania (2-0 rounds, 15-2 technical points) -Bronze Medal. In 2006 she could not repeat this success at the World Championships in Guangzhou , because she lost there in the weight class up to 55 kg after a first round victory over Olena Malischko, Ukraine against Ida-Theres Nerell and only came in 11th place. It was similar for her at the 2007 World Cup in Baku , because she won there over Alka Tomar from India and Emir Rivera from Puerto Rico , but then retired after a defeat against Alena Filipawa from Belarus and only came in 9th place.

In 2008 Tonya Verbeek was again Pan American Champion. She defeated Marcie van Dusen from the United States in the final . At the Olympic Games in Beijing, she managed to do far better than at the last two World Championships. In the weight class up to 55 kg, she won over Naidangiin Otgondschargal from Mongolia and Ludmila Cristea. In the semifinals she was defeated by Saori Yoshida, but in the battle for the bronze medal she defeated her old rival Ida-Theres Nerell just on points (2-0 rounds, 2-0 technical points) and thus won her second Olympic medal.

At the 2009 World Championships in Herning / Denmark (class up to 55 kg) she won over Sylwia Bilenska from Poland, Choe Jong-Bok from North Korea and Aiym Abdilina from Kazakhstan , before she failed again at the unbeatable Saori Yoshida. In the final battle for a world championship bronze medal, she then managed to beat Anna Gomis from France. At the World Cup in Moscow, Tonya Verbeek lost her first fight, wrestling for the first time in the weight class up to 59 kg, against Sorondsonboldyn Battsetseg from Mongolia and then defeated Joice Souza da Silva from Brazil in the consolation round , but lost her next fight against Ayako Shōda from Japan and came in 5th place. The Commonwealth Games took place in Delhi towards the end of 2010 . Tonya Verbeek started there again in the weight class up to 59 kg and was defeated in the final by Alka Tomar from India just on points.

In 2011 Tonya Verbeek took second place at the World Cup in Istanbul after a defeat in the final against Saori Yoshida, which was quite close (1: 2 rounds, 4: 7 points). Before this final she had defeated Maria Gurowa from Russia, Batbaataryn Nomin-Erdene from Mongolia, Julia Ratkewitsch from Azerbaijan and Tetjana Lasarewa from Ukraine. In the final of the Pan American Games in October 2011, she surprisingly lost to the young Helen Maroulis from the United States.

In May 2012 Tonya Verbeek won the World Cup tournament in Tokyo ahead of Valeria Scholobowa from Russia and Saori Yoshida. She owed this success to a victory over Valeria Scholobowa, which Saori Yoshida had previously defeated. Tonya Verbeek did not wrestle against Saori Yoshida at this tournament. But she met Saori Yoshida again in the final of the 2012 Olympic Games in London. She lost this fight with 0: 2 rounds and 0: 5 points. She reached the final with victories over Geeta, India, Tetjana Lasarewa and Jackeline Rentería , Colombia.

International success

year	space	competition	Weight class	Result
1995	5.	World Cup in Moscow	up to 57 kg body weight	behind Sara Eriksson , Sweden , Lene Aanes , Norway , Anna Gomis , France a . Natalia Vinogradova, Russia
1995	4th	Sunkist-Kids-International in Tempe / Arizona	up to 57 kg body weight
2000	4th	Canada Cup in Calgary	up to 56 kg body weight
2001	3.	Austrian Lady Open in Götzis	up to 56 kg body weight	behind Sara Eriksson u. Minerva Montero Perez , Spain
2001	1.	Gilbert Schaub tournament in Strasbourg	up to 56 kg body weight
2001	3.	Canada Cup in Calgary	up to 56 kg body weight	behind Jennifer Ryz , Canada a. Sara Eriksson
2001	1.	Clansmen International in Burnaby	up to 56 kg body weight	before Jennifer Ryz u. Melissa Kindrasky, bde. Canada
2002	1.	Golden Bears Invational in Edmonton	up to 55 kg body weight	before Erica Sharp u. Jennifer Ryz, bde. Canada
2002	2.	Guelph Open	up to 55 kg body weight	behind Jennifer Ryz, in front of Jessi Shirley, USA
2002	3.	Manitoba Open in Winnipeg	up to 55 kg body weight	behind Jennifer Ryz u. Anna Gomis, before Vanessa Boubryemm , bde. France
2002	3.	Universities World Cup in Edmonton	up to 55 kg body weight	behind Seiko Yamamoto , Japan a . Sun Dongmei , China
2002	5.	World Cup in Cairo	up to 55 kg body weight	behind Seiko Yamamoto, Tetjana Lasarewa , Ukraine , Natalja Karamtschakowa , Russia a. Jin Yue, China
2003	3.	Manitoba Open in Winnipeg	up to 55 kg body weight	behind Ida-Theres Nerell , Sweden a. Jennifer Ryz
2003	1.	Pan American Championships in Guatemala City	up to 55 kg body weight	before Tina George , USA a. Marcia Andrade Mendoza , Venezuela
2003	4th	Klippan Lady Open	up to 55 kg body weight	behind Seiko Yamamoto, Natalja Golz , Russia a. Erica Sharp
2003	1.	Grand Prix of Germany in Dormagen	up to 55 kg body weight	before Erica Sharp u. Minerva Montero Perez
2003	2.	Austrian Lady Open in Götzis	up to 55 kg body weight	behind Jennifer Ryz, in front of Sabrina Lotz , Germany a. Ida-Theres Nerell
2003	2.	Pan American Games in Santo Domingo	up to 55 kg body weight	behind Tina George, in front of Marcia Andrade Mendoza
2003	2.	World Cup in Tokyo	up to 55 kg body weight	behind Saori Yoshida , Japan in front of Natalja Golz u. Tina George
2003	1.	Clansmen Invational in Burnaby	up to 55 kg body weight	before Jennifer Ryz, Erica Sharp u. Diletta Giampiccolo , Italy
2004	2.	Intern. Tournament in Athens	up to 55 kg body weight	behind Tina George, in front of Christina Oertli , Germany
2004	6th	Olympic qualification tournament in Tunis	up to 55 kg body weight	Winner: Lee Na-lae, South Korea ahead of Diletta Giampiccolo u. Tetiana Lazareva
2004	3.	Olympic qualification tournament in Madrid	up to 55 kg body weight	behind Anna Gomis u. Ida-Theres Nerell, before Gudrun Annette Høie , Norway
2004	1.	Austrian Lady Open in Götzis	up to 55 kg body weight	before Jessica Bechtel , Germany a. Ida-Theres Nerell
2004	silver	OS in Athens	up to 55 kg body weight	after victories over Tela O'Donnell , USA, Olga Smirnowa , Russia a. Ida-Theres Nerell et al. one loss to Saori Yoshida, Japan
2005	2.	Universities World Cup in Izmir	up to 55 kg body weight	behind Saori Yoshida, in front of Marcie van Dusen , USA
2005	1.	Canada Cup in Guelph	up to 55 kg body weight	before Caitlyn Chase, USA, Gudrun Annette Hoie, Norway and Jessica Bechtel
2005	3.	World Cup in Budapest	up to 55 kg body weight	after victories over Lee Na-lae, Tina George u. Jessica Bechtel, a defeat geen Saori Yoshida u. a win over Ludmila Cristea , Romania
2006	1.	Guelph Open	up to 55 kg body weight	before Brittanee Laverdure , Kanadau. Sara Peasley, USA
2006	1.	Dave Schultz Memorial in Colorado Springs	up to 55 kg body weight	before Marcie van Dusen u. Sharon Jacobson, bde. United States
2006	1.	Intern. Tournament in Kiev	up to 55 kg body weight	before Olga Smirnowa u. Natalja Golz , Russia
2006	3.	World Cup in Nagoya	up to 55 kg body weight	behind Saori Yoshida u. Su Lihui , China, before Natalja Sinischin , Ukraine a. Natalja Karamtschakowa , Russia
2006	1.	Canada Cup in Guelph	up to 55 kg body weight	before Johanna Mattsson , Sweden a. Jessica Bechtel
2006	11.	World Cup in Guangzhou	up to 55 kg body weight	after a victory over Olena Malischko, Ukraine a. a loss to Ida-Theres Nerell
2006	1.	Clansmen International in Burnaby	up to 55 kg body weight	before Marcie van Dusen, USA a. Brittanee Laverdure, Canada
2007	1.	Guelph Open	up to 55 kg body weight	before Brittanee Laverdure and Jenny Wong, USA
2007	1.	Dave Schultz Memorial in Colorado Springs	up to 59 kg body weight	in front of Larissa Kanajewa, Russia a. Leigh Jaynes, USA
2007	1.	Canada Cup in Guelph	up to 55 kg body weight	before Charea Pascua, USA a. Jessica Bechtel
2007	3.	Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro	up to 55 kg body weight	behind Jackeline Rentería , Columbia a . Marcie van Dusen
2007	9.	World Cup in Baku	up to 55 kg kg	after victories over Alka Tomar , India a . Emir Rivera, Puerto Rico a . a loss to Alena Filipawa , Belarus
2007	1.	Sunkist-Kids-International in Phoenix (Arizona)	up to 55 kg body weight	before Brittanee Laverdure, Jenny Wong u. Olga Smirnova
2007	1.	Hargobind Open	up to 55 kg body weight	ahead of Alka Tomar, India, Emily Richardson, Brittanee Laverdure and Terri McNutt, all Canada
2008	2.	Guelph Open	up to 55 kg body weight	behind Chelynne Pringle, USA, in front of Terri McNutt
2008	1.	Pan American Championships	up to 55 kg body weight	before Marcie van Dusen u. Magdalena Avellano Morales, Mexico
2008	1.	Great Britain Cup	up to 55 kg body weight	in front of Alena Filipawa, Belarus
2008	1.	Internal tournament in Brașov / Romania	up to 55 kg body weight	in front of Otilia Tatar, Romania
2008	bronze	OS in Beijing	up to 55 kg body weight	after victories over Naidangiin Otgondschargal , Mongolia a . Ludmila Cristea, a loss to Saori Yoshida u. a victory over Ida-Theres Nerell
2009	2.	World Cup in Taiyuan	up to 55 kg body weight	behind Xu Li , China, in front of Chikako Matsukawa, Japan
2009	1.	German Grand Prix in Dormagen	up to 55 kg body weight	before Natalja Golz, Malgorzata Kruza , Poland a. Maria Gurowa, Russia
2009	3.	World Cup in Herning / Denmark	up to 55 kg body weight	after victories over Sylwia Bilenska , Poland, Choe Jong-Bok, North Korea a . Aiym Abdilina, Kazakhstan, a loss to Saori Yoshida a. a victory over Anna Gomis
2010	5.	World Cup in Moscow	up to 59 kg body weight	after a defeat against Sorondsonboldyn Battsetseg , Mongolia, a victory over Joice Souza da Silva, Brazil a. one loss to Ayako Shōda , Japan
2010	2.	Commonwealth Games in Delhi	up to 59 kg body weight	behind Alka Tomar, in front of Teya Tosin Richard, Nigeria
2011	1.	Dave Schultz Memorial in Colorado Springs	up to 55 kg body weight	before Tatjana Padilla u. Helen Maroulis, bde. United States
2011	1.	Guelph Open	up to 55 kg body weight	before Catherine Fulp-Allen , USA a. Brittanee Laverdure
2011	1.	Cerro Pelado-Granma in Havana	up to 55 kg body weight	before Marcia Andrade Mendoza, Venezuela a. Jillian Gallays, Canada
2011	1.	German Grand Prix in Dortmund	up to 55 kg	before Anna Gomis, Samantha Stewart, Canada and Maite Piva, France
2011	1.	Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid	up to 55 kg	before Simona Corbani, Italy, Joice Souza de Sliva and Katarzyna Krawczyk, Poland
2011	2.	World Cup in Istanbul	up to 55 kg	after victories over Maria Gurowa, Russia, Batbaataryn Nomin-Erdene , Mongolia, Julia Ratkewitsch, Azerbaijan and Tetjana Lasarewa, Ukraine and a defeat against Saori Yoshida
2011	2.	Pan American Games in Guadalajara	up to 55 kg	behind Helen Maroulis, USA, in front of Joice Souza da Silva u. Lissette Alexandra Antes Castillo, Ecuador
2012	1.	Dave Schultz Memorial International in Colorado Springs	up to 55 kg	before Helen Maroulis, Jull Gallays and Dhanda Pooja, India
2012	1.	Intern. Tournament in Kiev	up to 55 kg	before Natalja Sinischin, Ukraine, Sündewiin Bjambatseren , Mongolia and Irina Kisel, Russia
2012	1.	World Cup in Tokyo	up to 55 kg	before Valeria Scholobowa, Russia and Saori Yoshida
2012	1.	Austrian Lady Open ub Götzis	up to 55 kg	in front of Marwa Amri, Tunisia and Renata Omilusik, Poland
2012	silver	OS in London	up to 55 kg	after victories over Geeta, India, Tetjana Lasarewa and Jackeline Rentería, Colombia and a defeat against Saori Yoshida

Canadian Championships

year	space	Weight class	Result
1994	2.	up to 57 kg body weight
1995	1.	up to 57 kg body weight
1996	2.	up to 56 kg body weight
1999	4th	up to 56 kg body weight
2000	3.	up to 56 kg body weight
2001	3.	up to 56 kg body weight	behind Erica Sharp u. Jennifer Ryz
2002	2.	up to 55 kg body weight	behind Jennifer Ryz, by Ellen Macro
2003	2.	up to 55 kg body weight	behind Jennifer Ryz, in front of Erica Sharp
2004	1.	up to 59 kg body weight	before Emily Richardson et al. Breanne Graham
2005	1.	up to 55 kg body weight	before Brittanee Laverdure and Jessica Petersen
2006	1.	up to 55 kg body weight	before Brittanee Laverdure and Jessica Bondy
2007	1.	up to 55 kg body weight	before Brittanee Laverdure and Andrea Ross
2011	1.	up to 55 kg body weight	before Brittanee Laverdure and Jazmyne Barker

Explanations

• all free style competitions
• OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship,
• KG = body weight

literature

• Trade journal Der Ringer

Web links

• Tonya Verbeek in the database of the University of Leipzig
• Tonya Verbeek in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• Portrait of Tonya Verbeek on the Canadian National Olympic Committee website