Ben Dyck made quick work of his first two opponents while winning his first two matches at the Canadian senior national wrestling championships Saturday in Saskatoon. Wrestling in the 92 kilogram weight class in his first bout it took Dyck less than a minute to pin Jackson Browning of London, Ont. His second match of the day against Liam Graham of Saskatoon didn't last much longer than the first before he got the pin, but it was much more painful process for Dyck, a 28-year-old from Prince George, to finish it off.
While he grappled with Graham, Dyck felt something pop near his ribcage, but proceeded with the match, knowing he was close to a victory. A visit to the first aid station after he scored the pin confirmed Dyck had suffered torn rib cartilage, which left him unable to continue in the five-man tournament.
Dyck showed up for his match against Jeremy Poirier of Montreal, the eventual gold medalist, but due to his injury he told the referee he was unable to proceed before the match began.
Dyck's last match of the day was against Harbans Gill of Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club and Gill failed to appear so Dyck won in a walkover to finish the tournament with a 3-1 record, thinking he had accumulated 15 points (five for each of his pins and five for the walkover) which would have been enough for second place and a silver medal.
Unfortunately for Dyck, tournament officials saw it differently. They ruled that due to his injury he was ineligible for the rest of the tournament and he was left out of the medal ceremony.
"They said he was supposed to fill out a form to let them know he was injured but nowhere in the rule book does it say that you have to do that, it's up to the first aid team to make that determination," said Clayton Dyck, Ben's father/coach and a national-level wrestling referee.
"The drawmaster said he (or his coach) had to bring that form. I talked to the head of Wrestling Canada, who was new to that position, and he did not know that rule at all."
What happened next after the medals were presented was the epitome of sportsmanship. Browning walked up to Dyck, took off his bronze medal and gave it to Dyck, saying, "You pinned me."
Then Graham went over to Dyck, grabbed the silver medal he was wearing and hung it around Dyck's neck, taking the bronze medal instead as he reminded Ben that he also had pinned him.
"The integrity of these young men, by recognizing that Ben actually beat them, showed incredible citizenship and honour," said Clayton Dyck. "Their integrity outdid the unwritten rules."
"This was all about integrity," said Gary Godwin, who co-coaches with Clayton Dyck at the Gold Rush Wrestling Club in Prince George. "The wrestlers all knew who won, so they stepped up to do something about it. They did the right thing.
"It was something to witness."
Clayton Dyck has sent an email to Wrestling Canada to formally appeal the decision to disqualify his son in hopes that will legitimize his silver-medal finish. Ben Dyck is hoping to heal his injury in time for the next big meet, the Canada Cup event in Calgary on June 30. That is a qualifying event to help select the senior national team which will compete at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Dyck, a security supervisor at Treasure Cove Casino and part-time personal trainer, is returning to the wrestling scene after a lengthy hiatus from the sport. Saturday's tournament was only his third in eight years.
In other local wrestling news, Haley Florell of Prince George competed up an age class and won the silver medal in the women's 82 kg division at the junior national championships, also held in Saskatoon, two weekends ago.
Florell, a Prince George secondary school student, is entered in the juvenile national championships in Fredericton, N.B., April 5-7.
