Nigerian wrestling champion, Esther Kolawole delivered a resounding performance at the Grand Prix of Spain, clinching gold in the 62kg category in the final of the competition.
The reigning African champion demolished her opponent American wrestler Haylie Jaffe 10-0 by superiority in a one-sided final on Saturday, completing a perfect tournament run without conceding a single point.
This win is a huge upgrade for the 22-year-old, who took bronze in the same tournament last year, and now stands as one of Nigeria’s top medal hopes heading into the World Championships in Croatia later this year.
Esther Kolawole Ruthless Run to Gold
Esther’s path to the podium was nothing short of dominant. She opened her campaign with a 10-0 superiority victory over Spain’s Lydia Perez Tourino in the quarterfinals.
Kolawole’s dominance was evident from her opening bout, where she overwhelmed Spain’s Lydia Perez Tourino 10-0 in the quarter-finals.
She followed it up with a 4-1 win over Poland’s Alicja Nowosad in the semi-finals before dismantling Jaffe in the final.
The Nigerian made light work of the American, ending the match through technical superiority after racing to a 10-point lead without conceding a single point.
Wrestling Federation Applauds Esther Kolawole Achievement
Following her triumph, Daniel Igali, Nigeria Wrestling Federation president Daniel Igali,.a former Olympic and world champion himself, praised the 62kg champion’s hunger and discipline.
“On behalf of the board, I applaud the motivated reaction of Esther Kolawole,” Igali said.
“I am confident that this experience will shape her for future international events.”
He added that Esther’s current form points to a bright future for Nigeria on the global wrestling stage:
“If she continues in that trajectory, Nigerians should be hopeful of many gold medals in the future from her.”
Eyes on Budapest and Beyond
Following her victory in Spain, Esther Kolawole prepares and gears up for two other major competitions:
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The World Wrestling Ranking Series in Budapest, Hungary (July 14–19)
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The World Wrestling Championship in Croatia, scheduled for September 2025
Speaking on the roadmap for Kolawole and the team, Nigeria’s national women’s coach, Purity Akuh, explained the importance of continuous exposure and progress tracking.
“We are heading to these tournaments to compete. However, we want to continue to expose our wrestlers by competing with their international counterparts in such tournaments,” Akuh said.
“In doing so, it would help us to assess the strength and track progress of our wrestlers on how they performed at regular intervals to monitor improvement and adjust training accordingly.”
