Christine Nordhagen
Encyclopedia
Christine Nordhagen-Vierling (born June 26, 1971 in Grande Prairie, Alberta
) is a former Canadian
wrestler
.
. She has won six world championship gold medals: 1994, 1996, 2000 and 2001 in Sofia
, Bulgaria
(70 kg freestyle for 1994 and 1996, 75 kg for 2000 and 68 kg for 2001), 1997 in Clermont-Ferrand
, France
and 1998 in Poznań
, Poland
(both 68 kg). She won a silver medal in 1993 in Stavern
, Norway
and a bronze medal in 1999 in Boden
, Sweden
(both 70 kg). At the 2004 Summer Olympics
in Athens
she placed 5th in the 72 kg women's freestyle. She retired from competition a year after the Athens Games.
Nordhagen first started winning titles at Canada's first national championship in 1992. When she began competing at world championships in 1993, there were fewer than 150 Canadian women registered in wrestling. By the time she retired, there were more than 4,000 women, not counting non-registered girls at the high-school level, registered in wrestling, according to Greg Mathieu, executive director of the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Association.
Nordhagen-Vierling helped get the women's side of the sport into the Olympics for the first time at Athens in 2004, where she finished fifth. She'd beaten most of the women in the field, but in the last days of her career, though Nordhagen-Vierling still maintained the reflexes of a cat, she had acquired the battle-scarred knees of a Bobby Orr
and did not make the final four for a medal shot.
involved a smile of confidence and the work ethic of a girl raised on a farm where the labours did not have genders.
Tanya Dubnicoff
were among several retiring female athletes who were drafted into a special training program by the Coaching Association of Canada to help retain and pass on expertise to a new generation. In 2006, besides maintaining a busy schedule as a motivational speaker and role model for students (under the sponsorship of Alberta
oil and gas companies), Nordhagen-Vierling began coaching Canadian junior women.
.
Nordhagen-Vierling is one of nine wrestlers inducted for 2006, a class representing 30 individual world titles and eight Olympic gold medals.
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
) is a former Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
wrestler
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
.
Wrestling Achievements
Nordhagen, who began wrestling at age 20, is a graduate of the University of AlbertaUniversity of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
. She has won six world championship gold medals: 1994, 1996, 2000 and 2001 in Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
(70 kg freestyle for 1994 and 1996, 75 kg for 2000 and 68 kg for 2001), 1997 in Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne region, with a population of 140,700 . Its metropolitan area had 409,558 inhabitants at the 1999 census. It is the prefecture of the Puy-de-Dôme department...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and 1998 in Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(both 68 kg). She won a silver medal in 1993 in Stavern
Stavern
Stavern is a small Norwegian town located in the municipality of Larvik, south of the city of Larvik in Vestfold.The port and naval base of Stavern was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 . Even though it was an important port it was first given its status as a town July 1, 1942...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and a bronze medal in 1999 in Boden
Boden, Sweden
Boden is a locality and the seat of Boden Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 18,680 inhabitants in 2005.- History :The town of Boden started as a railway junction where the Northern Line met with the Ore Line from the rich iron ore fields in northern Sweden.The town experienced...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
(both 70 kg). At the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
she placed 5th in the 72 kg women's freestyle. She retired from competition a year after the Athens Games.
Nordhagen first started winning titles at Canada's first national championship in 1992. When she began competing at world championships in 1993, there were fewer than 150 Canadian women registered in wrestling. By the time she retired, there were more than 4,000 women, not counting non-registered girls at the high-school level, registered in wrestling, according to Greg Mathieu, executive director of the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Association.
Nordhagen-Vierling helped get the women's side of the sport into the Olympics for the first time at Athens in 2004, where she finished fifth. She'd beaten most of the women in the field, but in the last days of her career, though Nordhagen-Vierling still maintained the reflexes of a cat, she had acquired the battle-scarred knees of a Bobby Orr
Bobby Orr
Robert Gordon "Bobby" Orr, OC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Orr played in the National Hockey League for his entire career, the first ten seasons with the Boston Bruins, joining the Chicago Black Hawks for two more. Orr is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest...
and did not make the final four for a medal shot.
Upringing and Motivation
Nordhagen says she never ran well using hate as emotional fuel, as some athletes do. Her modus operandiModus operandi
Modus operandi is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode of operation". The term is used to describe someone's habits or manner of working, their method of operating or functioning...
involved a smile of confidence and the work ethic of a girl raised on a farm where the labours did not have genders.
"In a farm family, there's a different perspective," she said. "I had a mother who did everything my father did, because on a grain and cattle farm, things have to get done. . . . There were some gender stereotypes -- she cooked more than my father did -- but she also fixed machines, carried loads. It wasn't an option for me to say I can't do things because I'm female."
Coaching
Nordhagen-Vierling and former world champion cyclistCycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
Tanya Dubnicoff
Tanya Dubnicoff
Tanya Dubnicoff is a retired track cyclist from Canada. She won four gold medals at the Pan American Games. She represented Canada at three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1992. She was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 2002...
were among several retiring female athletes who were drafted into a special training program by the Coaching Association of Canada to help retain and pass on expertise to a new generation. In 2006, besides maintaining a busy schedule as a motivational speaker and role model for students (under the sponsorship of Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
oil and gas companies), Nordhagen-Vierling began coaching Canadian junior women.
Hall of Fame
On June 26, 2006, Nordhagen's husband and longtime coach, Leigh Vierling, received a phone call to inform Christine that she had been voted into the class of 2006 inductees to the international wrestling hall of fame. She became the first Canadian and first woman to be named to the hall by the Federation Internationale de Luttes Associees (FILA), wrestling's international and Olympic governing body. The ceremony was scheduled to take place during the world wrestling championships September 23 to October 2 at Guangzhou, China. The permanent display of honorees is housed at the Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in Stillwater, OklahomaStillwater, Oklahoma
Stillwater is a city in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. 177 and State Highway 51. It is the county seat of Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 45,688. Stillwater is the principal city of the Stillwater Micropolitan Statistical...
.
Nordhagen-Vierling is one of nine wrestlers inducted for 2006, a class representing 30 individual world titles and eight Olympic gold medals.