OTTAWA – Linda Morais and Darthe Capellan have been awarded the titles of 2019 Female and Male Senior Wrestlers of the Year.

In September, Morais, of Tecumseh, Ont., became World Champion at 59 kg.

Morais, who trains with the Montreal Wrestling Club, defeated Liubov Ovcharova of Russia in the gold medal match with a pin to claim victory.

Ovcharova appeared to be in control of the match and held a 6-1 lead at the two-minute mark. Morais, 26, scored on an exposure and was able to secure the victory by fall.

Capellan, 24, captured a bronze medal at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru in August. In the 57 kg bronze medal match Capellan secured a spot on the podium with an 8-7 win over Colombia’s Oscar Tigreros.

At the Senior World Championships, Capellan, of the Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club, lost to Serbian Stevan Micic 11-1 in the 57 kg 1/8 final. In the 1/16 final, he took down Junjun Asebias of Micronesia by technical superiority 11-0.

⚠ Medal Alert ⚠
Darthe Capellan takes bronze 🥉 at 57 kg with a 8-7 win over Colombia’s Oscar Tigreros!

📸: Vincent Ethier / Team Canada#Lima2019 pic.twitter.com/4yYcFJzEXs

— Wrestling Canada Lutte (@WrestlingCanada) August 9, 2019

In the past, the Wrestler of the Year awards are presenting at the Canadian Championships the following year. Due to safety concerns surrounding the spread of the COVID-19 virus, both Canadian Championship events were cancelled.

On Friday, Ana Godinez and Hunter Lee were awarded Junior Wrestler of the Year titles, and Serena Di Benedetto and Ismail Ayyoub were named Cadet Wrestlers of the Year on Thursday.