‘I could outwork anybody’

Kaura Coles, a 19-year-old amateur wrestler from Winnipeg, has achieved remarkable success in the sport despite not being the strongest or fastest. Representing the London-Western Wrestling Club, she won gold in the 53-kg division at the U20 World Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia, on August 19. Coles is only the fifth Canadian to win a U20 world title.

In her final two matches, she outlasted her opponents with a partially torn MCL, an injury she had never experienced before. Coles, who has learned four languages, credits her parents' 11 children, most of whom are wrestlers, for her involvement in the sport. After winning a medal at the senior Canadian championship, Coles plans to compete at her first senior world championship in Astana, Kazakhstan, in October.

Her coach believes she has the potential to qualify for the 2032 Olympic Games. Coles has decided to take a mission year before returning to university, volunteering as a coach at a private, Catholic high school in Pennsylvania, considered the top state in the U.S. for amateur wrestling. She hopes her success will inspire other Métis and Indigenous wrestlers.