Nobody looks good in a singlet.
That is one thing wrestling Olympic hopeful Leah Callahan knows for sure as uncertainty looms as trials for the greatest athletic contest in the world approaches Dec. 17 in Winnipeg.
"If I have my best day, I should make it to the Olympics," Callahan speculated.
Growing up in Mackenzie, Callahan said she loved all sports, including volleyball.
Coach Ken Barwise encouraged sports-minded Callahan to join the wrestling team.
Wrestling with boys sounds awful when you're a 13-year-old girl, but once you get past the thinking part and get to the doing part, it's really not that big a deal, she explained.
Josephine Anderson and Brittany Baxter are in the final stages of creating The Sticking Place, an interactive documentary about Callahan's journey from Canadian Nationals to the Olympic Trials where she could earn a spot at the 2012 London Olympics.
"There are definitely two sides to me," said Callahan, whose parents live in Prince George. "I'm still that little kid that says 'wow, the Olympics - that will be crazy if I make it!' and the other side is the mature athlete that knows I have the skills and ability to make it."
Anderson and Baxter, the show's producers and directors saw Callahan compete at the wrestling nationals and were so impressed with the crowd-pleaser's energy and talent, they decided to record her journey as she enters the Olympic trials.
Once the trials are over, Anderson and Baxter will do a follow-up so viewers are not left wondering what happens next.
"She lost her nationals in the last few seconds of the match so this upcoming match could be really close this time," said Brittany. "Leah has done so much training over the summer and we've followed her throughout that journey. She's been really amazing about being honest and open about all the emotional ups and downs she's been facing and how hard it is to devote herself to the sport. There's no money or fame, she just does it out of pure passion and joy."
The final project will be released in June 2012.
To check out the documentary in
progress, visit www.thestickingplacefilm.ca.
