Baraladei Daniel Igali (born February 3, 1974) is a Nigerian-Canadian

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 ...

. He won Canada's first ever

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

wrestling 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 di ...

at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

and remains Canada's only male Olympic gold medalist in wrestling.

Wrestling career

As captain of the Nigerian wrestling team, Igali came to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

to compete in the

1994 Commonwealth Games The 1994 Commonwealth Games ( French: ''XVéme Jeux du Commonwealth'') were held in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, between 18 and 28 August 1994. Ten types of sports were featured at the Victoria Games: athletics, aquatics, badminton, box ...

. He remained in the country while seeking refugee status due to political unrest in Nigeria. He acquired citizenship in 1998. Igali enrolled at

Douglas College Douglas College is the largest college in British Columbia, Canada with 7,958 full-time equivalent students in 2023-24. Douglas College offers bachelor's degrees and general university arts and science courses, as well as career programs in h ...

before transferring to

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 ...

to study

criminology Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

. He represented SFU from 1997 to 1999, winning three straight

NAIA Championships The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to their s ...

and finishing with a 116-0 record in

collegiate wrestling Collegiate wrestling, commonly referred to as folkstyle wrestling, is the form of wrestling practiced at the post-secondary level in the United States. This style of wrestling is also practiced at the high school, middle school, and elementary ...

. Additionally, Igali earned

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honours three times and the two Gorriaran Awards (1997, 1999) for most pins in the least total time. At the

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, Igali won a gold medal for men's 69 kg freestyle wrestling. At the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...

in Manchester, Igali won a gold medal in the Men's 74 kg freestyle wrestling. In 2007, Igali was inducted into the

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 ...

. He was later inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 2012. His wrestling career is highlighted in a television documentary directed by Joel Gordon called, "Wrestling with Destiny: The Life and Times of Daniel Igali". The

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curric ...

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

was broadcast by

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

in 2004 as an episode of the '' Life and Times'' TV series. Igali became the first elected president of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation in 2013, creating the highest morale athletes for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and highest medal hopefuls for Nigeria at the Games. The Nigerian team has otherwise lacklustre morale outside of wrestling. In September 2022, Igali was elected as a board member of UWW (United World Wrestling) for a five year term.

Politics

On February 10, 2005, Igali announced that he would seek nomination as a candidate in Surrey-Newton for the

British Columbia Liberal Party BC United (BCU), known from 1903 until 2023 as the British Columbia Liberal Party or BC Liberals, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party has been described as conservative, neoliberal, and occupying a centre-right ...

in the 2005 provincial election 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 ...

. He won the nomination, but was defeated by

New Democrat New Democrats may refer to: * New Democratic Party, a social democratic party in Canada * New Democrats (United States), the ideological centrist faction of the Democratic Party ** New Democrat Coalition, the related caucus in the United States H ...

opponent Harry Bains in the election.

Personal

He completed a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in

, having previously attended

. While working on his master's degree, he trained at SFU and liked to help coach. Igali is currently the coach of the Nigerian National Wrestling Team. In November 2006 Igali was injured during a violent robbery while in Nigeria. In 2020, he was the president of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation. He is a two-term member of the

Bayelsa State Bayelsa is a state in the South South region of Nigeria, located in the core of the Niger Delta. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State, making it one of the newest states in the federation. The capital, Yenag ...

assembly and also its sports commissioner. In 2012, Igali was one of the recipients of the Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards presented by Canadian Immigrant Magazine.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Igali, Daniel 1974 births Living people Black Canadian sportsmen Canadian sportsperson-politicians BC United candidates in British Columbia provincial elections Commonwealth Games competitors for Nigeria Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games gold medallists in wrestling Northern Star Award winners Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Naturalized citizens of Canada Nigerian emigrants to Canada Nigerian male sport wrestlers Olympic gold medalists for Canada Olympic medalists in wrestling Olympic wrestlers for Canada Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada Sportspeople from Surrey, British Columbia Simon Fraser University alumni Wrestlers at the 1999 Pan American Games Wrestlers at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Wrestlers at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Wrestlers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Canadian male sport wrestlers Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Pan American Games bronze medalists in wrestling Black Canadian politicians World Wrestling Championships medalists Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Simon Fraser Red Leafs men's wrestlers