Tonya Verbeek

Tonya Verbeek

Verbeek (bottom) in 2003
Personal information
Nationality	Canadian
Born	(1977-08-14) 14 August 1977 (age 39) Grimsby, Ontario, Canada
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight	55 kg (121 lb)
Sport
Sport	Freestyle wrestling
Club	Brock Wrestling Club, Ontario
Medal record Women's freestyle wrestling Representing  Canada Olympic Games 2004 Athens 55 kg 2008 Beijing 55 kg 2012 London 55 kg World Championships 2005 Budapest 55 kg 2009 Herning 55 kg 2011 Istanbul 55 kg Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi 59 kg Pan American Games 2003 Santo Domingo 55 kg 2007 Rio De Janeiro 55 kg 2011 Guadalajara 55 kg

Tonya Lynn Verbeek (born 14 August 1977) is a Canadian freestyle wrestler. Verbeek was the first woman to win a wrestling medal for Canada when she took silver in 2004, she added to that with a bronze at the 2008 Summer Olympics and a second silver at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She has also won two bronze and a silver at the world championships and has a bronze and silver from the Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games respectively.

She was born in Grimsby, Ontario. She took up wrestling in grade eleven and was undefeated throughout high school in Beamsville, Ontario. She trains at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, and is coached by Marty Calder.

She won a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in freestyle women's wrestling in the 55 kg category.

At the 2008 Summer Olympics, she won Canada's third medal overall, the third Canadian medal ever in women's wrestling, by winning a bronze. Verbeek won a silver medal at the 2011 world championships. She was undefeated in 2012 when she was named to the Canadian team for the 2012 Summer Olympics. On 9 August 2012,Verbeek defeated Geeta Phogat of India in her first round match. Verbeek went on to win the silver medal in the Women's 55 kg freestyle category, being defeated by Saori Yoshida in the final.