OTTAWA— Canadian wrestlers are ready to take to the mats this weekend, July 8-10, for the 2022 Grand Prix of Spain in Madrid. Canada will send 28 athletes, representing seven provinces, to compete in the annual international tournament.

Of those athletes, 18 will compete on the women’s side. Among the list are three former world champions in Burnaby, B.C.’s Justina Di Stasio, Tecumseh, Ontario’s Linda Morais and Coquitlam, B.C.’s Ana Godinez Gonzalez.

For Di Stasio, from Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club, her title came in 2018. Di Stasio, who will compete at 76kg, is also a Pan-American Games gold medalist and multi-time Pan-American Championships gold medalist.

Morais, who trains out of Montreal – National Training Centre, captured her title in 2019. She will compete in the women’s 68kg weight class in Spain.

Finally, for Godinez-Gonzalez, also from Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club, she was crown champion at last year’s U23 World Championships. Godinez Gonzalez also earned gold earlier this year at the Pan-American Championships. She will compete at 62kg.

As for the men, they will have multiple continental champions in action in Spain including Coquitlam’s Darthe Capellan, North York, Ontario’s Lachlan McNeil and Calgary’s Emmanuel Olapade.

Capellan, who trains out of Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club, is a Pan-American Champion at both the senior and junior level (2016 and 2014). He also captured a bronze at the 2019 Pan-American Games.  He will be competing at 57kg.

McNeil, a product of Team Impact Wrestling Club, is a three-time Pan-American gold medalist, claiming two as a cadet (2016 and 2017) and one as a junior (2021). He will look to add more hardware in Spain at 65kg.

Finally, Olapade, from Dinos Wrestling Club, is the most recent medalist of the group. Olapade captured gold earlier this year at the Pan-American Championships and will look to build off that momentum. He will compete at 70kg.

Team Canada for 2022 Grand Prix of Spain   

Joining the athletes are the coaches and team staff. The list includes: Dave McKay, David Zilberman, Shane Bradley, Tony Ramos, Frank Mensah, Ashok Kumar, Chris Lindsay, Chris Woodcroft and Victoria Cleary. Chris Falconer will also represent Canada as a referee.

For complete tournament information, visit the tournament site at: https://uww.org/event/grand-prix-spain-6.