A former University of the Fraser Valley Cascades wrestler came up just short in her quest to earn an Olympic medal.
Ana Paula Godinez Gonzalez dominated the Canadian post-secondary wrestling scene with the Cascades in 2019, winning both the Canada West and U Sports gold medals without allowing a single point at those tournaments.
Godinez Gonzalez was also named the U Sports female wrestler of the year in 2019, becoming the first-ever UFV athlete across all sports to earn a U Sports national athlete of the year award.
Following the Cascades wrestling team's dissolution, she joined the SFU wrestling team and went on to win Pan Am Games gold in 2022 and 2023, as well as a silver in 2023. She also won gold at the U23 championships in 2021 and a silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Competing in the women's freestyle 62 kilograms division, Godinez Gonzalez opened on Aug. 9 with a 5-2 win over France's Ameline Douarre, but then fell 11-0 to Japan's Sakura Motoki.
She bounced back with a 2-0 win over Romania's Kriszta Tunde Incze on Aug. 10 to set up the bronze medal match later that day against Norway's Grace Jacob Bullen. The Norwegian earned an 11-0 win to capture the bronze and bump Godinez Gonzalez to fourth.
The trip was extra special as her older sister Karla made the trip to Paris and served as Ana's training and warm-up partner. Karla also competed for the Cascades wrestling team.
Ana and Karla's older sister Loopy Godinez Gonzalez is a fighter in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and has competed with that organization since 2021. Her most recent fight saw her lose a unanimous decision to Mackenzie Dern in the United Arab Emirates on Aug. 3.
The Godinez Gonzalez family famously escaped an attack and threats from the Mexican cartel before arriving in Canada and rebuilding their lives in Vancouver.
