#OurAthletes: Meet Montreal wrestler Dorothy 'Dori' Yeats
Yeats, who grew up in Montreal West, comes from a wrestling family
Dorothy "Dori" Yeats started off in gymnastics and decided to switch gears and enter wrestling at the age of 14. It wasn't long until she claimed a national title, followed by two gold medals at international competitions.
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Here is a little more about Dori Yeats:
Where she's from
Yeats grew up in Montreal West and comes from a wrestling family.
Her dad Doug Yeats represented Canada five times at the Olympics in Greco Roman Wrestling. Making it to the Olympics too has always been her dream.
Dorothy, however, didn't start out as a wrestler. She was a gymnast until the age of 14 when she decided that wasn't the sport which was going to get her to podium.
She took up freestyle wrestling and nearly as soon as she started competing she started winning.
Dorothy claimed her first national champion only six months after seriously training in the sport.
In 2010 she won gold for Canada at the Youth Olympic Games in Shanghai and she followed that up with another gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Dorothy is a graduate of Elizabeth Ballantyne Elementary School, Royal West Academy and Vanier College.
She has an older sister, Ani, and two younger brothers, Johnny and Peter.
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Where she is now
For Dorothy, the Pan Am Games is the next step to reaching her Olympic goal.
She trains two times per day, five days per week at Tristar gym in Montreal.
In addition to wrestling, Dorothy is a student at McGill University studying civil engineering.
She has a passion for math and physics, something she also has in common with her father, Doug.
Where she is going
Like any champion, Dorothy's goal for the Pan Am Games in Toronto is to win gold.
She is looking forward to competing in front of her friends and family and establishing herself as a legitimate contender for the Olympics in 2016.
Yeats will be in Toronto to compete from July 13–20.
After the games, she will head to Poland for a tournament and then it's on to the World Championships in Las Vegas, which will be her first opportunity to qualify for Rio 2016.
