Teenage Islander wins national wrestling championship
Nolan O'Rourke, a 14-year-old from Charlottetown, is a national wrestling champion.
The Grade 9 student was in Edmonton last weekend for the Canadian championships. He competed in the under-17, 60-kg division, and now he's back home with a gold medal.
"At first it didn't really kick in — it just felt like I won another tournament — but now I realize what it means and it feels super cool," said O'Rourke.
He won the tournament despite dislocating his kneecap in December. It was an injury that he thought he would get over quickly but which developed complications. He still had to be careful with it in Edmonton.
'I just want to keep getting better'
While this success suggests the Olympics might one day be in O'Rourke's future, that's not something he thinks about much. He said he's focusing on more short-term goals.
"I want to win nationals again. Maybe in the future if I win nationals I can go to field trials, which is like, Team Canada. I just want to keep getting better every year, really, and learning more," he said.
O'Rourke trained for the past month in Montreal leading up to the national competition.
He plans to move there for the next school year to train with the Montreal Wrestling Club.
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