Though funding did not go as expected, Matilda Kokera, a 19-year-old amateur wrestler from Goodwood Wrestling Club, managed to represent South Africa at the African Continental Championships and the African and Oceania Olympic Games Qualifier event in Egypt.
The events took place from Thursday 14 to Tuesday 19 March and Friday 22 to Sunday 24 March, respectively.
The Goodwood Wrestling Club founded by the late Clifford Etzebeth, David Briers and Simon Abrahams re-opened its doors at the Goodwood Civic Centre in 2001.
From its inception the club has achieved great successes at provincial, national and international level, with Etzebeth a three-time masters world champion and Briers and another club member Robert Scot Springbok and Protea wrestlers.
Hayden Abrahams received three gold medals at the African Championships and also participated in the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships with his brother Ryan.
The club caters for all including the hardest-hit folk, namely the low-income and unemployed group, which makes it quite difficult to maintain the members’ interest in the sport, although they have around 30 registered and 20 recreational wrestlers.
Funding
“We eventually managed to raise the required amount through friends and family to get Matilda to the mentioned tournaments through a back-a-buddy initiative,” said Simon Abrahams of the Goodwood Wrestling Club, raising around R2 700, of which R1 000 came from me.
He explained that at the African Continental Championships Matilda was placed fifth out of 11 as she lost her match to qualify for the bronze medal against the wrestler from Tunisia.
“In the African and Oceania Olympic Games Qualifier you are given only one chance before you are out, and she very narrowly lost to the Australian wrestler although she should have won as she had dominated most of the fight with the other fighter eventually beating her on points.”
Matilda arrived back in Cape Town with other members of the team on Tuesday 26 March.
