Surrey teen Natalie Wojciechowski is wrestling her way around the world at high-level competitions in Brazil, Greece, Estonia, Netherlands and other countries.
The 16-year-old athlete recently won the 2025 Canadian Wrestling Championship team trials, earning a chance to compete at the U17 Pan-American Wrestling Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this month.
It's a "dream come true" for the Grade 11 student, who trains at the Coast Wrestling club with freestyle coach Frank Mensah and also her father, Antoni Wojciechowski, whose background is Greco-Roman wrestling in his native Poland.
"She's that's her fourth year of wrestling, which she started just after COVID," Antoni explained. "I have two daughters and the younger one, she's more artistic and not too much into sports, but Natalie was always the tougher one. I said that she should try wrestling and (her response) was, 'Maybe one day.' So when COVID ended, wrestling was one of the first things to start up again. She tried it and liked it, that's how it started for her."
In February, Natalie helped the Guildford Park Secondary team with Semiahmoo Secondary. Semiahmoo sisters Gurleen and Tania Dhillon tied with Guildford Park's Natalie Wojchiechowski and Khushi Jhalli.
When she first began wrestling at age 12, Natalie had no idea just how much the sport would come to mean to her.
"Wrestling has given me purpose, confidence and a true sense of belonging," she reveals. "It鈥檚 more than just a sport 鈥� it鈥檚 a community. I鈥檝e built lifelong friendships, found incredible mentors and grown alongside teammates who inspire me daily. Most importantly, wrestling has brought me closer to my dad. We鈥檝e shared every win, every loss, and all the moments in between."
All that wrestling around the world comes with a cost, of course, which is why Natalie and her family recently started an online campaign to raise money to help send her to Brazil for the PanAms. So far, close to $2,000 has been committed from 26 donors on , with a $9,000 goal.
"With this opportunity to represent Canada, I am asking for your help 鈥� not just for me, but for my family, too," Natalie says in the bio of the campaign, organized by her mother, Julie.
"My parents have been my biggest supporters," Natalie wrote. "From daily practices and tournaments to all the sacrifices behind the scenes 鈥攖hey鈥檝e given everything to help me chase my dreams (in Brazil). But getting there comes at a cost 鈥� and it鈥檚 entirely self-funded. They鈥檝e done everything they can to manage training, travel, and competition expenses up until now, but this is the biggest stage yet."
鈥攚ith files from Tricia Leslie
