Canadian wrestler Justina Di Stasio’s path to Olympics paved with patience, resilience [Video]

No athlete’s road to the Olympics is seamless. Justina Di Stasio’s has been challenging, but serves as a masterclass in patience and resilience.

The 31-year-old wrestler is an avid learner and believes so strongly in education that she took a one-year sabbatical from her sport during the pandemic to pursue a career as a teacher.

Her motivation and drive in her sport is sincere and centred. But it wasn’t always like that. When I recently spoke with Di Stasio, it struck me how self-aware she is.

Over the duration of our hour-long call, we chatted and she told me about her love for wrestling, her mental health advocacy, and learning more about her Indigenous culture.

I like to ask athletes how they fell in love with their sport. At this level of performance and success, it’s hard to imagine them not loving it — and Di Stasio is no exception.

She was …