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Brooklynn Dieter is looking to take down the competition at nationals.
The 17-year-old will be one of the athletes heading to the 2026 Canadian Wrestling Championships from April 24-26 in Grand Prairie, Alta.
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She will compete in the 61-kilogram weight class in the U19 female division. Dieter already has a national gold medal to her name, as she won the U17 gold medal in her weight category at the 2025 nationals.
“All the best wrestlers in Canada come to wrestle at this one tournament. I’m super excited. I’ve been training really hard for it,” the Riffel high school student said.
Dieter first became interested in the sport because her cousin was a participant in the sport.
“I just grew up around it. When I joined, I just fell in love with it and just kept doing it,” Dieter said. “The hard work and the work ethic and learning new techniques every day (is what I love). Nothing is ever the same in wrestling; it’s always different. You get to meet a lot of new people in it as well so it’s a good sport to be in.”
Rob Lang is her coach with Advanced Wrestling Academy, a program Lang runs out of a gym he built in the basement of his home. Lang grew up wrestling and competed at world championships and Olympic trials.
“Her dad called me about four years ago,” Lang recalled. “He wanted a higher level of coaching so she came to me four years ago and I started working with her. She’s a four-time high school provincial champion … I’ve coached a number of high school provincial champions but shes four time in a row. A national champion. She’s easily one of the best girls in the country for sure.
Lang continued, “She’s disciplined, she’s very coachable, she’s fearless. She will go after it and doesn’t really care but she puts the work in. I think one of the biggest things is her mom and dad are great people and they are very, very supportive. She has a very supportive home family, a supportive group with the team here.”
Brookylnn Dieter has been training with the Advanced Wrestling Academy for about five years. (John Dieter/Submitted)
Dieter said it can be nerve-wracking prior to a contest.
“You really have to get your mind into it. If I mentally prepare for it, the matches are so much fun,” Dieter said.
It’s her mental toughness that Lang thinks sets her apart from others.
“She will fight. Wrestling is a combat sport and some kids back down,” Lang said. “She’s tough, she’s a grinder. That’s what you need.”
Dieter has also enjoyed her years being coached by Lang.
“I love being here. It’s such good people and good coaching and he’s made me the athlete I am today. He even taught me a lot of good life lessons,” Dieter shared.
Dieter is also seeing the sport grow, especially when it comes to the female side.
“(There’s) a lot more competition compared to when I first started,” Dieter said. “A lot more female wrestlers. I remember my first tournament, there were only two or three girls, depending on the tournament. Now there’s 18 girls in my bracket at nationals, so it has grown a lot more I feel.”
Lang is also seeing a growth in the sport, but said it still lags behind the United States.
“The number one growing sport is women’s wrestling in the United States. It’s crazy the amount of wrestlers they have,” Lang said. “Now it’s starting to filter here. Even in high schools and young kids, we’re seeing more women’s wrestling.
“It’s good because when I grew up in wrestling, there wasn’t women’s wrestling. That was a long time ago though.”
Brooklyn Dieter is a multi-time provincial champion in the sport of wrestling. (John Dieter/Submitted)
Lang is excited to see what his group of athletes can do at the national event.
“I look at how I have developed these kids, how I have mentally got them ready and physically got them ready. These kids train harder than most kids in the country – I know it because I have been in almost every room in this country and they are very disciplined. All of these kids are very disciplined and we just do what they need to do.”
Lang called his athletes “probably the best group I’ve had complete at nationals,” and predicted a strong performance from Dieter.
She admits it’s pretty cool that the sport has allowed her these opportunities to travel to compete at events.
“I never thought I would get this far. In Grade 9, I never thought I’d win provincials and I have won provincials. It’s an amazing opportunity and I’m just so happy to have it,” Dieter said. “(I) just want to put in my best effort, try my best and work my hardest to stay in good position and all that.”
Lang thinks the sky is the limit for Dieter.
“I think she has the potential to be on the Canadian national team, the senior national team,” Lang said. “We have the world team trials at the end of May and that’s where she can make the Pan-Am team, the world championship team, which I believe she can.”
