Canadian wrestlers Erica Wiebe, Danielle Lappage, and Sam Stewart are encouraging Canadians to stay at home and practice social distancing and Canada works to minimize the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

“I’m at home doing my part to physical distance,” said Wiebe, 2016 Olympic Champion and qualifier for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, now set for 2021.

“That means no wrestling for a little while. I know it sucks for everybody at home who feels like their season has ended and all the hard work they put in is gone. I just want to send a reminder that the hard work you put in this season will stay, it will always be there. You are the athlete you’ve always been.”

“If we do our part now, that means that’s the sooner we can get back on the mats,” added the 30-year-old. “Please encourage all athletes in wrestling in Canada to do your part. Stay at home, train as you can, but don’t try to wrestle other people.”

“I hope everyone’s staying safe out there and staying positive,” said Lappage, who is also a Tokyo 2020 qualifier and 2016 Olympian.

“I know that a lot of wrestlers are getting stir crazy and missing wrestling, missing getting on the mats, and missing training. I know I sure am. But I just wanted to encourage you all to stay home right now. It’s not important to train, it’s not important to wrestle. It’s important to stay home and to protect our communities and our families from getting sick. And to do our job as a Canadian and a person of the world to stop the spread of this virus. Let’s do this so we can get back to doing what we love sooner rather than later.

“It’s important to think about the health and safety of others, not just yourself right now, and staying home is the best way to do that. Don’t be a dummy, stay at home,” said Sam Stewart, Canadian Trials winner at 53 kg.

“There are a lot of things you can do to stay active and get a workout in at home while maintaining physical distancing practices. I just got a stationary bike for my apartment so I can do cardio at home. There is a lot of content right now on home workouts, fitness class videos, and virtual yoga classes so there isn’t a need to leave your home to get a good sweat in.”