Ana Godinez Gonzalez: Canada’s Wrestler at Paris 2024
Ana Godinez Gonzalez reached her first Olympics with a record of international success and a sporting journey that began far from the wrestling mat. Representing Canada in women’s freestyle at 62kg, she finished fifth at Paris 2024 after reaching a bronze-medal match. Her campaign connected years of development in British Columbia with the challenge of facing the world’s strongest wrestlers.
From rugby to international wrestling
Born in Mexico, Godinez Gonzalez moved to Canada with her family at age seven and grew up in British Columbia. She initially loved rugby and began wrestling at 16 to improve her tackling. What started as a way to support another sport developed into her main competitive pursuit.
Her background at Simon Fraser University helped connect her with a demanding wrestling environment. Ahead of Paris, the university profiled her among four former SFU wrestlers selected for the Games. That group also included fellow Canadian Justina Di Stasio and Americans Dom Parrish and Helen Maroulis, reflecting the international reach of the program.
A qualification built on earlier results
Godinez Gonzalez’s progress was visible well before the Olympics. She earned junior world bronze in 2019, won the U23 world championship in 2021 and added U23 bronze in 2022. At senior level, a fifth-place finish at the 2022 world championships showed she could compete close to the podium.
Her regional record included consecutive Pan American championship titles in 2022 and 2023, alongside Commonwealth Games silver in 2022. She secured a place at Paris through a top-two finish at the 2024 Pan American Olympic qualifier. Those results gave her Olympic debut a substantial foundation, rather than making it an isolated breakthrough.
The family connection to combat sports
Godinez Gonzalez’s sisters pursued their own sporting paths. Karla also wrestled internationally for Canada and accompanied her to Paris as a training partner. Their older sister Lupita, widely known as Loopy Godinez, competed in the UFC.
The connection attracts attention from MMA fans, but Ana’s Olympic campaign stands on its own achievements. Her route was through freestyle wrestling’s international system, and her qualification came from her performances in that sport. Having family involved in combat sports adds personal context without predicting that she will follow the same professional path as her older sister.
A fifth-place finish in Paris
Godinez Gonzalez opened her Olympic tournament with a victory over France’s Ameline Douarre before losing to Japan’s Sakura Motoki in the quarterfinals. Motoki’s progression to the final brought the Canadian back into contention through repechage.
She defeated Romania’s Kriszta Incze to reach a bronze-medal match, where Norway’s Grace Bullen won 11–0. The outcome left Godinez Gonzalez fifth, one match from a medal. Her Paris story therefore includes both the disappointment of missing the podium and the achievement of reaching that stage on her Olympic debut. It is a concrete milestone in a career built through junior, U23, regional and senior international competition.
Sources
- Team Canada: biography and Olympic placing
- Simon Fraser University: pre-Olympic profile
- Team Canada: opening Olympic matches
- Sportsnet: repechage and bronze-medal match
Sources: olympic.ca; wrestling.ca
Tags
Olympic Games, Wrestling
