Carol Huynh (; born 16 November 1980) is a retired Canadian freestyle

wrestler Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves diffe ...

. Huynh was the first gold medalist for Canada in women's wrestling and the first gold medallist for the country at the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. She is also the 2010

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

and two-time

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

champion. She has also achieved success at the world championships where Huynh has totaled one silver and three bronze medals. Huynh is also an eleven time national champion. Following the 2012 Olympics, Huynh retired from competition and started coaching the University of Calgary Dinos wrestling team. Huynh was elected to the United World Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2013. In early 2015 she was selected as a United World Wrestling Super 8 Ambassador for the global campaign focusing on the development of women in wrestling and has also served as the Chair of the United World Wrestling Athletes Commission from 2013 to 2017. As of 2020 she is the current coach of Wrestling Canada's Next Gen team based in Calgary.

Career

Huynh broke onto the international scene as a wrestler beginning at the World Championships in 2000 where she won bronze. She continued to build on this success at the next World Championships in 2001 where she won silver. She would have to wait four more years till she would medal again at the Worlds when she won a bronze again in 2005. Success never dropped off though, Huynh would win the title in her 48 kg weight class at the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Rio 2007, were a major Americas, continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of ...

. She competed in the 48 kg weight class at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, winning a gold medal. This broke Canada's gold medal drought at the 2008 Games. She is the second ever female medallist for Canada in Olympic wrestling, after Tonya Verbeek, the 2004 Athens freestyle silver medallist. Huynh was the first gold medallist in women's wrestling for Canada. Following the Olympic games she continued to perform at a top level, winning bronze at the 2010 World Championships. That same year she won the

title. Huynh then won the 2011 Canadian title again for 48 kg and then successfully defended her Pan Am Games title in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

. She was named to the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

team in London for Canada. There she won a second Olympic medal, this time a bronze in the 48 kg class.MSN News Canada
"Canada's Carol Huynh wins wrestling bronze"
CBC Sports, 12 August 2012

Coaching and leadership

In 2013, after retiring from competitive wrestling and being inducted to the FILA (renamed in 2014 as United World Wrestling) Hall of Fame, she was appointed as a chairwoman to the international wrestling federation. On 8 December 2015, Huynh was named Canada's assistant chef de mission for Rio Olympics. She was awarded the

Order of Sport The Order of Sport is a national level award established in 2019 by Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. It is awarded alongside induction into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, and regarded as Canada's highest sporting honour. Overview Canada’s Sp ...

, marking her induction into

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canada, it serves as a hall of fame and mu ...

in 2017. Since 2015 and as of December 2020, Huynh has served as Wrestling Canada's Next Gen coach based out of Calgary.

Personal

Huynh was born in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

to parents who were ethnic Chinese refugees from northern Vietnam. Her father was born in China, but moved to Vietnam when he was three; her mother was born in Vietnam. They settled in the town of New Hazelton, British Columbia, after being sponsored by the local

United Church A united church, also called a uniting church, is a denomination formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestantism, Protestant Christian denominations, a number of which come from separate and distinc ...

.Gary Kingston "Carol Huynh: The Hope of Hazelton." ''National Post.'' Saturday, 16 August 2008. Coming from a wrestling family, where both of her sisters wrestled, she started wrestling at 15.Cariboo Press
Carol Huynh is going for the gold in wrestling
, 11 March 2008 (accessed 17 August 2008) She started studies at

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

in 1998, then moved to the

University of Calgary {{Infobox university , name = University of Calgary , image = University of Calgary coat of arms without motto scroll.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , former ...

in 2007.Television SRC, ''Pekin 2008'', 15 August 2008 broadcast Huynh married Dan Biggs, a social worker and former wrestler, in 2005. She was coached by Paul Ragusa, former National team member and Olympian, as well as Leigh Vierling, ex-husband of former World Champion Christine Nordhagen.CBC Television ''Olympic Morning'' 16 August 2008 @ 6:15am EST

Competitive record

References

External links