For as long as she can remember, Ana Godinez wanted to be just like her sister, Loopy.
Two of four daughters in a family of Mexican immigrants in Western Canada, Ana and Loopy were inseparable despite the gap in age – Ana the youngest and Loopy the oldest.
“I used to just copy everything she did,” Ana recently told MMA Junkie. “I said I didn’t like mayonnaise because she didn’t like mayonnaise. Everything I did, I wanted to be like her. I looked up to her. She’s been a huge inspiration in my life – my whole life.”
Disdain for mayonnaise wasn’t the only influence Loopy had on her sister. One day when Ana was in high school, a family outing to support Loopy at a jiu-jitsu tournament changed her life forever.
“They were doing wrestling at the same tournament and she’s like, ‘You should try it. It’ll help your rugby and your tackles and whatever,’ Ana said. “So then, they had it at our school, so (our sister) Karla and I were like, ‘We should try it together.’ We tried it, and we both fell in love with it and started taking it seriously after a couple months.”
Image via Iridium Sports Agency
Ana was 16 at the time, and rugby was the passion she was most dedicated to. She was stuck to it like glue, but eventually the praise from her wrestling coaches got through. Coaches Frank Mensah, Jason Jahani, and Omid Farahani weren’t willing to let her talent go elsewhere.
“(Jahani) as like, ‘If you can get my leg, you can win the Olympics one day.’ So I worked with him every day, and one day I got his leg,” Godinez said. “He’s like, ‘You actually got my leg.’ I’m like, ‘You’re lying.’ He’s like, ‘I think you can go to the Olympics. If you can get my leg, you can win the Olympics.’ I’m like, ‘Whoa.’ That’s when I knew I was getting better. It just clicked.”
Earlier this year, the prophecy came one step closer when Godinez qualified for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Godinez is ranked No. 7 in women’s 62kg freestyle wrestling. Her first match will be Aug. 9.
Despite competing on the world’s biggest athletic stage, Godinez remains grounded.
“A lot of people feel lost after the Olympics because they’ve worked so hard and for so long to get to this one moment,” Godinez said. “They’re trying to make it define them, this one moment and this one performance. It’s really, really hard to be the best on this one day. You can be the best on another day, but it might not be the Olympic day. That’s why it’s so extraordinary to win the Olympics.
“It would mean so much to me to be the best on that day. I’ve been training to beat everyone in my weight on my worst day. That’s what I’m working toward. Because I know I can beat everyone in my weight on my best day. This is why I’m focused when I’m tired or on my period or sick or not feeling the greatest, but yet I still have to go out there and wrestle. I want to be able to beat the best girls in the world on my worst day.”
COVENTRY, ENGLAND – AUGUST 05: Sakshi Malik (blue) of Team India competes against Ana Godinez Gonzalez (red) of Team Canada during the Women’s Freestyle 62 kg Gold Medal match on day eight of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games at on August 05, 2022 on the Coventry, England. (Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images)
As Godinez excels in wrestling, she has no incentive to pivot elsewhere right now. However, that’s not to say MMA isn’t on the the road map. Godinez has helped her sister prepare for bouts in the past and has caught the MMA bug. It’s only a matter of time.
“I’ve definitely thought about it, and I’ve tried a little bit of it,” Godinez said. “I’ve gotten a little taste of it because of Loopy. I definitely like it, and I love learning. I think I already have the mindset for it, so I’ll definitely try it. I think it would be foolish for me not to try because it’s so easily available to me with my sister. That’s definitely something I’m looking into doing after I’m done wrestling. I don’t know when that’ll be, but I’ll definitely try it at least.”
Whether it’s through the Olympics or a crossover mixed martial arts, Godinez has another underlying goal: to elevate women’s wrestling in Canada. There’s no gold medal or belt associated with that accomplishment, but it might be even more fulfilling.
“I feel like the more we win, the more it’ll get promoted,” Godinez said. “I’m trying to do it. But I see there are a lot of girls coming up in Canada, doing better internationally. I feel like we’re going to follow the steps of the U.S. and expose wrestling to more schools and more girls. I really hope it does, because it’s such a great sport.”
