A busy summer of wrestling has provided an opportunity for Hannah Taylor to see the world.
The graduate of Three Oaks Senior High School in Summerside will have visited four countries for competitions or training camps before the end of September.
In July, Taylor finished fifth in the senior competition at the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, Spain, and won a gold medal in convincing fashion at the junior Pan Am championships in Forteleza, Brazil, earlier this month. After returning from Brazil, Taylor was back on Canadian soil in Toronto for only a few hours before boarding a plane to fly to Seoul, South Korea, where she is now attending a wrestling camp with her Brock University team and some select athletes from across Canada.
“One thing with wrestling is there are a lot of opportunities with training camps,” said Taylor in a phone interview with the Journal Pioneer. “We are going to be doing technique every day, and it’s going to be a learning experience because it will be different opponents and wrestling at an international level (in Seoul).”
After returning from South Korea, the 20-year-old Taylor will begin her third season at Brock in St. Catharines, Ont., before competing in her fourth world junior championships in Slovakia on Sept. 17.
Special victory
Taylor admitted it was special to win Pan Am gold.
“It’s an exciting feeling because it took me three tries to claim the title,” she said. “I had a lot of teammates be very successful as well.
“It was a good day for everybody. It was nice that I got to wrestle some experienced opponents.”
Taylor’s gold-medal performance was highlighted by her winning all three matches by pinfall, including victories over 2018 senior Pan American bronze-medallist Michaela Beck of the United States, and 2017 Cadet Pan Am silver-medallist Susana Lozano of Mexico.
When asked if it is more satisfying to win by pinfall instead of points, Taylor responded, “Winning by points you are winning by technical superiority, but if you are pinning someone you are dominating them in a strength way, not just technically.”
No room for error
Taylor understands there is no room for error in single-elimination competitions, and she drew on her past experiences in Brazil.
“I feel with more international experience you understand how to wrestle these types of events. You have to take it one match at a time. You can’t go out there and be like, ‘Oh my goodness, if I lose this I’m done.’”
Taylor said this is something she has done in the past.
“Although I won, there are still things I can learn from, and there were things I did that weren’t the greatest technically,” she continued. “Being able to learn from your experiences, regardless if you won or lost, is a big thing. Overall, it was a good experience.”
Taylor also made a point to recognize the support she has received from her home province.
“I had lots of messages and comments on my family’s (social media) posts from coaches, old teammates, teachers I had and everyone from P.E.I. was so supportive,” said Taylor. “It is so amazing, and I’m so lucky to come from a small place where everybody knows you and cares about you. I’m really appreciative of that.”
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