We caught up with Molly Winstone (British Junior Wrestling Champion) inbetween her busy schedule of training, school and competitions - here's what she had to say!
How long have you been wrestling for?
I started Wrestling in 2008 at the age of eleven so that would make it 7 years for me this September 2015.
What got you into the sport?
My brother started wrestling through his secondary school and attended a club outside school as well as joining the after school club. When that club closed down, my brother decided to take coaching courses in order to start his own club, which with the help of my Dad, he did.
One evening I was asked if I wanted to go along so I said yes. I really enjoyed the session so decide I would make it a regular thing.
What do you like about wrestling?
The thing I like most about wrestling is that I have never participated in a sport like it before. I have tried other sports such as football, swimming and even cross country running, but none of them compare to wrestling. Wrestling incorporates many different disciplines and requires a lot of hard workto achieve your goals - this is what I like about it.
What are your wrestling goals for the next three years?
By 2018, I would love to be competing regularly around the world. Wrestling is a community and wherever you go to wrestle, you meet amazing people and fighters that you can learn a lot from.
My big dream is to get to the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. If I could achieve this goal I would be incredibly happy and I will push myself as far as I can in order to get there.
What does your current weekly training schedule look like?
I train at impact gym twice a week doing circuits and Olympic weightlifting and train in wrestling twice a week. I also often train in Manchester on the weekends as well. Outside of classes I do a lot of running and swimming to keep up my general fitness.
What would you say to other young girls who are interested in getting into wrestling - do you have any words of advice? Where should they start?
It can be harder for girls to get into wrestling than for boys, this is because it is mainly a male-dominated sport. However, wrestling is extremely rewarding and allows you to push yourself without even knowing it.
So to any girls that are interested, I'd say just give it a go, you never know if you are going to like something until you have tried it. There will be times where you won’t get the techniques being taught or won’t win bouts in competitions, but if you keep pushing through then you will eventually break through barriers.
What is your proudest achievement so far when it comes to your wrestling?
My proudest achievement so far is making it onto the National Talent Squad. This means a lot to me as it gives me access to further and more technical training sessions to help me develop as an athlete. Being on the NTS also gives me more opportunities to compete abroad and gain more experience through wrestling.
Do any of your friends at school wrestle? Are they surpised you do it?
None of my friends wrestle, in fact not very many of them had heard of Freestyle Wrestling. When you say "wrestling", people tend to think of WWE and professional Wrestling. Due to this, most of the people that I tell I wrestle to are very surprised and often have a lot of questions about the sport.
Who and where do you currently train with and do you teach others?
I train at impact gym with different trainers completing circuits and Olympic weightlifting. I also train with Josh Saidi who is my current wrestling coach at the Bristol BJJ Academy. I have my level 1 coaching badge but don’t currently help with any coaching.
Are there any particular sports people you look up to or you think are inspiring? Why?
I don’t have one individual idol; however I do look up to general wrestlers for different reasons.
Some may be because of their achievements others because of a particular move or even just because of their personality and how they act.
Do you think female wrestlers have to overcome more obstacles than male wrestlers?
I believe that there are a lot more barriers for female wrestlers, especially in the UK.
The main reason to this is due to it being a male dominant sport therefore it can be difficult for female to find training partners and sometime even people willing to train with them. Due to there being so few females, it also means in domestic competitions that females don’t get as many bouts and often fight the same wrestlers.