Jasmine Mian, Star Canadian Olympic Wrestler Blossoms From Adversity

Adversity is like the truth.

We all know it when we see it or feel it and even understand that it can be beneficial for us, but all too often, we absolutely hate both of them.

So it’s refreshing when we are blessed to experience the incredible success of Jasmine Mian, a super star Canadian female Olympic wrestler.

**fciwomenswrestling.com article, photo via CBC.ca**

She was once quoted in the informative source news.nationalpost.com as expressing, “I think having adversity and overcoming that adversity is something that I’ve learned so much from, every single one of my failures, and it’s made me a better person in the long run, so seeing that change in myself and that personal growth.”

Okay that makes sense.

And you know what, we even agree with her.

We still hate adversity though.

By contrast, we absolutely love Jasmine Mian. Time for some truth telling.

Don’t worry, you can handle Jasmine’s truth.

It’s time to learn more about Jasmine and since Canada is our close neighbor, let’s walk over to Jasmine’s site and knock at the door (jasminemian.ca.)

She opens and smiles, “I entered high school as a runner. Up to that point, I competed in Track and Cross Country Running. I don’t even know if I really knew what Olympic freestyle wrestling was, but that would all change when Al Emond- the high school wrestling coach at Innisdale Secondary School- convinced me that I should come try out for the wrestling team.

I don’t know if I ever answered all the questions that were swirling around in my mind, but I did figure out pretty quickly that whatever this crazy sport was, I wanted to be the best at it!

I joined our local club team- K Bay Athletic Club run by Nicholas Cryer. By the time I graduated high school, I had won the high school provincials (OFSAA) and made the Cadet & Junior national team.

Brock University

After falling in love with the sport in high school and getting a little taste of what it was like to make a national team, I decided that I had to attend a university with a great wrestling program. I chose to attend Brock University to wrestle under head coach and Olympian Marty Calder.”

We are starting to gush and blush because we have researched and heard so many incredible things about Brock’s program and given their success, even viewing them as a Canadian dynasty.

Okay, sorry for the interruption. We want more truth.

She continues, “The Brock program has turned out many, many great wrestlers including 3x Olympic Medalist Tonya Verbeek and 2012 World Champion Jessica MacDonald. While at Brock, I won University Provincials (OUAs) 3 times and I won University Nationals (CIS) in 2011, made the University World Team and captured bronze at the University Worlds in Torino, Italy the same year. This was a big moment for me! I had proven to myself that I was capable of winning on the World level and I went on to win bronze again at the 2012 University World’s in Finland.

After completing my undergraduate degree, I really felt that I was at a crossroad. I wasn’t sure if I should continue to pursue my athletics at the highest level while pursuing my master’s degree.

I also really knew that I wanted to make the Olympic team in 2016 and that I needed to change up my training to give myself the best shot of making the team.

On December 5th, 2015, I qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games by winning the Canadian Olympic Trials. The event was one of the toughest competitions of my life because in order to win, I had to defeat 2012 World Champion Jessica MacDonald and 2015 Pan Am Games Champ & Senior World Bronze Medalist, Genevieve Morrison.”

Wow. Very impressive.

After all of that truth-telling we feel better. That was good therapy.

We are getting addicted to listening to Jasmine speak. She is so honest and refreshing so we researched and found a video that we loved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF-pjxUzl8w

Wrestlers Jasmine Mian and Erica Wiebe – Beautiful Bodies | CBC Sports

**fciwomenswrestling.com article, photo via University of Canada**

One of the thoughts that Jasmine shared there is to, focus on what you are and not on what you’re not, and there is no such thing as a perfect body, combat those insecurities.

No wonder we love Canada so much. Very enlightening.

The educational Canadian site wrestling.ca who knows Jasmine well adds some color. Literally. “Mian loves the nature of the sport, allowing her to put something on the line and take risks in a safe environment where she can see the rewards and track them in her journal. Graduating from Brock University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Mian currently works as a teaching assistant at the University of Calgary where she is pursuing her Masters of Science in Experimental Psychology.

A wrestler who paints her nails before every competition, the Guelph native volunteers as a Big Sister in the Big Brothers Big Sisters recreation program, sharing her love of health, wellness and activity.”

We haven’t had enough. We want more.

**fciwomenswrestling.com article, photo via Jasmine Mian’s Twitter**

The informative site ucalgary.ca adds, “Mian’s training is intense and, like her Olympic teammate and fellow University of Calgary alumna Erica Wiebe, a typical day involves a tough off-mat morning session of power, strength and speed exercises and then two hours of on-mat training at night. There are high standards and big expectations for the Canada women’s wrestling team: they have won at least one medal at every Olympics since women began competing in Athens in 2004.”

Yes there are great expectations for Canada’s great female wrestling program and we sense that Jasmine embraces those challenges and when her career begins to wind down will help teach and pass those important internal skillsets on to other young female Canadian wrestlers.

She shares that mind set in an interview with globalnews.ca. “For some people in different sports, making the team is so exciting. But when you make the women’s wrestling team, you make it, and you’re excited. But there’s an expectation now that you can perform and we know that we can.”

We know that Jasmine can and that is the truth.

And you what else?

This time the truth feels good.

~ ~ ~

http://jasminemian.ca/bio/

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/rio2016/wrestling/wrestling-canada-olympic-roster-1.3646926

http://www.cbc.ca/playersvoice/entry/jasmine-mian-pov

https://wrestling.ca/athlete/jasmine-mian

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/video/video-wrestler-jasmine-mian-had-to-go-through-her-teammate-to-get-to-rio/article31441836/

http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/olympics/jasmine-mian-a-qa-with-the-olympic-wrestler

https://wrestling.ca/olympic-team-athlete/jasmine-mian

http://globalnews.ca/news/2842553/rio-olympics-wrestlers-erica-wiebe-jasmine-mian-honed-skills-in-calgary/