Bordeaux wrestler wins at the African Wrestling Championships
The final that Dominick Aoun won was against the Tunisian champion three years older than him.
Bordeaux wrestling star Dominick Aoun (14) has become the youngest South African to ever win at the United World Wrestling African Championships. He won gold in the U17 freestyle category and silver in the U17 Greco-Roman wrestling, in Tunisia.
South Africans are no strangers to the competition, and a few 15-year-olds have won in the U17 group, but Dominick has done this a year sooner than they did. Furthermore, this helped him qualify for the World Championships in Turkey, in August.
“I was so excited and proud when I won, I couldn’t believe it,” the youngster told Randburg Sun.
“It was crazy as I did not expect it. I would say having a good mindset and willpower were what helped me throughout the tournament.”
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Dominick’s weight division was 48kg and he said losing weight for the tournament was a challenge. Also, most of the boys he wrestled were older and taller than him, and so he had to outthink them and rely on his technique rather than strength alone.
Dominick’s father and assistant coach, Fadi, said looking at the boy’s physicality and mentality was crucial in their preparation for the tournament.
“He started training twice a day, running before school and training after school with his head coach, Dean van Zyl, at Ruiter Wrestling Club, and had extra training with me.”
Another coach, Jan Roets, helped Dominick with his diet and weight loss.
The victory that earned him a gold medal was an emotional one. Dominick was up against Tunisian champion Haroun Bouthouri, a boy three years older and a head taller than him.
“Coach Jan told Dominick ‘you have to pin Haroun to be able to get gold’, as they were working on a point system,” Fadi said.
“Haroun shot for a single leg – Dominick defended it and got him in a necktie. Dominick tried to grab his leg, but he hooked his arm and rolled him. Towards the end, Dominick got him in a cradle lock when Haroun tried to pin him. However, Dominick reversed it and got him on his back and pinned him instead.”
It was at this point Dominic yelled for joy as he knew he was about to win a gold medal. “It was very emotional for us; his coaches and teammates who were all supporting and watching on the live stream from South Africa.”
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