Baraladei Daniel Igali (born February 3, 1974 in Eniwari,

Bayelsa State Bayelsa is one of the states in the South-South region of Nigeria, located in the core of the Niger Delta region. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State, making it one of the newest states in the federation. Yenag ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

) is a Canadian freestyle

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...

who is an

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

gold medallist. He lives in

Surrey, British Columbia Surrey is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is located south of the Fraser River on the Canada–United States border. It is a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver regional district and metropolitan area. Mainly a suburban city, Surr ...

Wrestling career

As captain of the Nigerian wrestling team he came to Canada to compete in the

1994 Commonwealth Games The 1994 Commonwealth Games ( French: ''XVéme Jeux du Commonwealth'') were held in Victoria, British Columbia, from 18 to 28 August 1994. Ten types of sports were featured at the Victoria Games: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling, ...

. He remained in the country while seeking refugee status due to political unrest in Nigeria. He acquired citizenship in 1998. In Canada, Igali won 116 consecutive matches wrestling at

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...

from 1997 to 1999. He placed fourth at the 1998 world championships. He finished second at the 1998 World Cup and won a bronze medal at the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games or the 13th Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and surrounding towns and ...

. He was coached by Nasir Lal, two-time Canadian olympian from Afghanistan. At the

2000 Summer Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

in Sydney,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, Igali won a gold medal in the Men's 69 kg freestyle wrestling. He represented Canada at the world stage. At the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

in Manchester, Igali won a gold medal in the Men's 74 kg freestyle wrestling. In 2007, Igali was inducted into the

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canad ...

. He was later inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 2012. His wrestling career is highlighted in a television documentary directed by

Joel Gordon Joel Gordon (born November 15, 1975) is a Canadian actor, producer and director. Early life As a teenager growing up in Scarborough, Joel Gordon received the Harry Jerome Award for the Arts for his work as a young actor. After studying acting ...

called, "Wrestling with Destiny: The Life and Times of Daniel Igali". The

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

was broadcast by

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

in 2004 as an episode of the '' Life and Times'' TV series. Igali became president of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation, creating the highest morale athletes for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and highest medal hopefuls for Nigeria at the Games. The Nigerian team has otherwise lacklustre morale outside of wrestling. In September 2022, Igali was elected as a board member of UWW (United World Wrestling) for a five year term.

Politics

On February 10, 2005, Igali announced that he would seek nomination as a candidate in

Surrey-Newton Surrey-Newton is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. The riding was first created out of the two-member Surrey district in 1986, which had been in existence since 1966. Surrey had always b ...

for the

British Columbia Liberal Party The British Columbia Liberal Party, often shortened to the BC Liberals, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition. Subsequent to the 2020 Br ...

in the 2005 provincial election in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. He won the nomination, but was defeated by

New Democrat New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as culturall ...

opponent

Harry Bains Harry Bains is a Canadian politician serving as the Minister of Labour in British Columbia. He has been the NDP MLA for Surrey-Newton since 2005. Career Bains has experience in education due to his service on the Kwantlen University College ...

in the election.

Personal

He completed a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in

criminology Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...

, having previously attended

Douglas College Douglas College is the largest public degree-granting college institution in British Columbia, Canada. Close to 17,000 credit students, 8,500 continuing education students and 4,210 international students are enrolled here. Douglas College o ...

. While working on his master's degree, he trained at SFU and liked to help coach. Igali is currently the coach of the Nigerian National Wrestling Team. In November 2006 Igali was injured during a violent robbery while in Nigeria. In 2020, he was the president of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation. He is a two-term member of the

assembly and also its sports commissioner. In 2012, Igali was one of the recipients of the

Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards The Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards is an annual campaign by ''Canadian Immigrant'' magazine that recognizes outstanding work by immigrants who "have come to Canada and have made a positive difference living in the country." Overview First ...

presented by

Canadian Immigrant Magazine ''Canadian Immigrant'' is a free monthly magazine and daily website for recent arrivals to Canada. The properties are owned by Torstar, and are currently published by Metroland Media Group, with print distribution throughout British Columbia, Alber ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Igali, Daniel 1974 births Living people Black Canadian sportspeople British Columbia Liberal Party politicians Canadian sportsperson-politicians British Columbia Liberal Party candidates in British Columbia provincial elections Commonwealth Games competitors for Nigeria Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Lou Marsh Trophy winners Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Naturalized citizens of Canada Nigerian emigrants to Canada Nigerian male sport wrestlers Olympic gold medalists for Canada Olympic medalists in wrestling Olympic wrestlers of Canada Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada Sportspeople from Surrey, British Columbia Simon Fraser University alumni Wrestlers at the 1999 Pan American Games Wrestlers at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Wrestlers at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Wrestlers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Canadian male sport wrestlers Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games medallists in wrestling Pan American Games medalists in wrestling Black Canadian politicians World Wrestling Championships medalists Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games