Four years in the making, Wrestling With Destiny
features extraordinary access to Igali, documenting his journey
from unknown refugee in Canada to triumphant hero in his homeland.
As Igali prepares to defend his Olympic title this summer
in Athens, Life and Times profiles his amazing story.
Wrestling is part of Nigeria's culture. As a boy, Igali dreamed
of wrestling just like his heroes. By his late teens, Igali
was Nigerian champion - ready to take on the world. But there
were few options in a country torn by poverty and civil unrest.
To achieve his goals, Igali would have to turn his back on
his homeland. During those early days as a refugee, Igali
knew things would be better once he started wrestling. He
got his chance with Simon Fraser University's wrestling team,
where he also enrolled in criminology - keeping a promise
to his parents.
As he struggled to adjust to his new life, Igali met his
guardian angel - a mother and school principal named Maureen
Matheny. She became Igali's spiritual inspiration as he began
to succeed on the mats. Matheny died of cancer in 1999, just
after Igali won a world championship for Canada - a first
in wrestling. But there was no hero's welcome home for Igali,
just the realization that, in Canada, wrestling can’t
compete with hockey. Despite being named athlete of the year
in 2000, Igali was still living hand-to-mouth as he prepared
for the Olympics. A sponsorship followed, but, in Sydney,
it was a largely unknown Igali who draped the Canadian flag
around his shoulders in victory.
Wrestling with Destiny is Daniel Igali’s deeply personal
story. Through his journals, through days and nights of training
and studying, the documentary tells the story of a modern
athlete whose loyalties are divided. But it is also the story
of a refugee who struggles to find his place in the world
and learns that all that glitters is not gold.
Original Air Date - March 9, 2004
Links
Igali
Olympic Bound (from CBC.ca)
Daniel
Igali Web site
The
transformation of Daniel Igali (Readers' Digest)
Daniel
Igali bio (Canoe.com)
(Note: CBC does not endorse the content of external
sites)
|
