Karla Godinez Gonzalez captures Canada's 1st medal at World Wrestling Championships

Karla Godinez Gonzalez claimed Canada's first medal at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships with bronze in the women's 55-kilogram weight division on Tuesday in Belgrade, Serbia. 

The Coquitlam, B.C., native defeated Moldova's Mariana Dragutan 6-2 in the bronze-medal match. Gonzalez, from the Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club, scored three two-point takedowns in the opening period and secured a 6-2 lead before the break.

In the second period, the 24-year-old appeared to suffer a knee injury but was able to hang on for her first World Championship medal.

"I decided to just go for it, and the results happened."

This is the third international medal for Godinez Gonzalez this year after she won gold at the Pan-American Championships and silver at the Grand Prix of Spain.

"[This year] hasn't sunk in yet," she said. "When I think about this I am like 'wow' yes, I wanted the gold but winning the bronze just shows that I am growing and that is a huge deal. I have only been wrestling for six years, so I have to put triple the time in to catch up to these girls.

Godinez Gonzalez opened the tournament with a 5-2 win over Shokhida Akhmedova of Uzbekistan in the round of 16 before a 2-1 victory against Romania's Andreea Ana in the quarter-finals.

In her semifinal match with Ukraine's Oleksandra Khomenets, Godinez Gonzalez led 1-0 at the break but fell behind in the second period following a four-point takedown by Khomenets. 

Godinez Gonzalez was unable to reclaim the lead despite a second-period takedown. The 5-3 loss forced her to compete for bronze. 

There are 20 athletes representing Canada at the world championships from Sept. 10-18., including all 12 of the 2022 Commonwealth Games team members who captured 12 out of a possible 12 medals in Birmingham, England, alongside eight wrestlers who earned their spot at the Non-Olympic Weight Class Trials on June 30 in Summerside, P.E.I.