Te Wharekura o Mauao student Westerly Ainsley is one of four youth wrestlers that will represent New Zealand at the Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games in October. Almost 4000 athletes from 206 countries are expected to participate that this year’s Youth Olympic Games.
Katikati Wrestling club had produced a number of national champions.
16-year-old Westerly Ainsley is their latest member set to represent NZ in Argentina later this year.
“I have been training every day in Tauranga and here at this club in Katikati, so, I would wake up in the morning and do fitness.”
He is one of four youth wrestling athletes representing New Zealand in the Youth Olympic Games.
Ross Tanner, head coach at Katikati says that wrestling is something that runs in the family.
“With the wrestling, he’s always probably wrestling his brothers at home you go to their place you see them all fighting on the trampoline and things like that it seems to be built into them and he’s just got that ability and drive to want to do well”.
Ainsley has been wrestling for the last five years but since landing this opportunity it will see him take on a big challenge.
Tanner says “We are not huge on the international stage because we don’t have a lot of competition here look if he puts the work in he can do just as well in this age group as anybody else he’s got a real chance.”
The Youth Olympic Games is in October.
