Canadian wrestler Daniel Igali knows Athens Olympics will be a challenge

March 8 2004

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. (CP) - Daniel Igali isn't fooling himself. He knows things have changed since he won a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Back then, the freestyle wrestler from Surrey, B.C., was going in as the world champion in the 69-kilogram division and was relatively unknown to Canadian sports fans. Now, he's ranked 11th in the world in a heavier weight class and has had a rash of injuries, including one that required career-threatening neck surgery last year. He's also become one of Canada's most popular amateur athletes.

He admits he's got a lot of work ahead of him if he's going to return to the podium this summer in Athens. But he's not going merely to participate, and if he feels by June or July that he won't be a contender, he may even back out.

"I've been on top of the podium and I know how it feels," he said. "I want to recreate that.

"But if I feel that I can't compete at that level, then I would have to call it. won't make that much of a fool of myself."

He's not worrying about that right now though. In fact, he's excited about the challenge of what is likely to be his final Games.

"If I win at the Olympics, it would be my biggest achievement ever in my life," he said. "There are six or seven people that I haven't even wrestled.

"It's a challenge for me and I'm looking forward to it but, at the same time, it keeps you up at night."

Igali defeated Zoltan Hunyady of Fergus, Ont., in a best-of-three Saturday to earn a spot on the Olympic team in the 74-kilogram class. The wrestle-off, which took place during the CIS national championships at Brock University, was necessary after Igali was unable to compete at the Olympic trials in December due to a rib injury.

Igali earned Canada the Olympic spot in the 74-kilogram class during a qualifying tournament in Bratislava, Slovakia, in January. Guivi Sissaouri of Montreal has already qualified in the 60-kilogram class, while Ottawa's Evan MacDonald has earned a spot in the 66-kilogram class.

The rib injury and neck and back problems have dogged Igali since Sydney. He says he's finally starting to feel healthy.

"I've had pretty good training for the last two and a half months," he said. "Since the Canadian trials, when my ribs healed up, I've been going pretty steady."

As long as he remains free of injury, Igali will focus on getting some matches against the top-ranked wrestlers in his new weight class. He has yet to face the top-ranked competitors.

The five-foot-six Igali has had to adjust to battling taller and heavier opponents in the 74-kilogram class. The 69-kilogram division was eliminated by FILA, the sport's world governing body, when the weight classes were restructured so the International Olympic Committee could make room for women's wrestling at future Games.

"I think it's going to be a lot tougher than it was in Sydney," said Igali.

He said most of his fellow competitors in the new weight division have come down from a heavier division, while he has had to move up.

"You have to try to overcome that (his size disadvantage) with speed and scout them out and have a game plan for every one of them, which takes a lot of time, and I do that well," said Igali. "When competitions come, I spend most of my time watching my opponents, trying to devise strategies for them."

He said it's finally getting easier.

"I think I've grown into the weight class now," he said. "I'll know where I stand as time goes by."

He hopes to get a start at seeing what he's up against at a World Cup event next month in Azerbaijan.

Igali, 30, a native of Nigeria, has lived in Canada since he competed in the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria. He became a national hero at the 2000 Olympics when he knelt to the floor and kissed a Canadian flag after winning a gold medal in the 69-kilogram class.

While he's adored by Canadians, he admits they may not realize what he's up against.

"This notion that I should just go and win, because that's what everybody thinks, a lot of times (they) don't really know about the sport, they don't know about your opponents," he said. "There's that expectation and it's good. I think it's healthy."