Canadian wrestler Dori Yeats qualifies for Rio Olympics
Canada first country to qualify in all women's weight classes
Canadian wrestler Dori Yeats qualified for Rio in the 69-kilogram division Friday at the Pan American Olympic qualifier in Frisco, Tex.
The 22-year-old Montreal native defeated Tamyra Mensah from the United States 5-0 in a semifinal match. That win punched Dori's ticket, as the top two finishers in each class qualify for the 2016 Summer Games.
<a href="https://twitter.com/DoriYeats">@DoriYeats</a> defeats Mensah (USA) 5-0 in the semis and qualifies the weight class for Rio! Will face BRA in the final. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RoadToRio?src=hash">#RoadToRio</a>
—@WrestlingCanadaCanadians Jillian Gallays, Michelle Fazzari and Erica Wiebe all also qualified for Rio in the 53-kilogram class, 58-kilogram class and 75-kilogram class respectively.
"The athletes on this roster know how to compete at the highest level. As a team, we were excited to face this important challenge," said the team's coach Leigh Vierling. "Each one of our four remaining women's Olympic hopefuls have overcome some kind of major setback in the preceding year. They all had their minds and hearts set on the task of wrestling to their full potential and winning in Texas."
Other Canadians Jasmine Mian (48 kg) and Danielle Lappage (63 kg) already secured their Olympic spots in women's freestyle wrestling at trials in December.
Team Canada's women's wrestling team has qualified for all remaining weight classes for the Olympic Games.
<a href="https://twitter.com/WrestlingCanada">@WrestlingCanada</a> is the first country in the world to qualify all 6 women's weight classes for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rio2016?src=hash">#Rio2016</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoCanadaGo?src=hash">#GoCanadaGo</a> <a href="https://t.co/BK74KYLCGO">pic.twitter.com/BK74KYLCGO</a>
—@jasmine_mian