Ana Godinez Gonzalez

Biography

The journey to become an Olympic wrestler hasn’t always been easy for Ana Godinez Gonzalez. After fleeing her home country of Mexico when she was seven years old, she and her two sisters, along with their parents, landed in Vancouver, B.C., and had to start from scratch.

Originally developing a love for rugby, Godinez Gonzalez turned to wrestling when she was 16 years old to help her improve her tackling technique — but the wrestling bug bit and she hasn’t looked back.

In 2019, she won bronze in the women’s 62kg event at the UWW Junior World Championships. She followed up with a U23 world title in 2021 and a U23 world bronze medal in 2022.

Godinez Gonzalez has been competing at the senior world championships since 2019, finishing as high as fifth in the women’s 62kg event in 2022. That same year, she won the first of two straight gold medals at the Pan American Championships and won silver at the Commonwealth Games.

Godinez Gonzalez secured her ticket for Paris 2024 by finishing in the top two in the women’s 62kg weight class at the 2024 Pan American Olympic Qualifier.  

A Little More About Ana

Getting into the Sport: Didn’t begin wrestling until she was in grade 11; originally started as a way to help train for rugby… Younger sister, Karla, also competes internationally in wrestling for Canada… Older sister, Lupita, is a mixed martial artists who competes in the UFC… Odds and Ends: Moved to Canada with her family at age 7; after gaining Canadian citizenship at age 19 she was able to compete internationally for Canada…