“When you can see what I do through the Indigenous lens, it becomes really positive.”

Justin Di Stasio on the Importance of “Failing Forward”

In addition to being an outstanding talent on the mat, Di Stasio is also known for her resilience.

Despite being the 2019 World Champion and Pan American Champion, she has never competed in the Olympics.

This is mainly due to the brilliance of her compatriot Erica Wiebewho defeated Di Stasio at the Canadian Trials before the last two Games and won gold in the 75kg at Rio 2016.

For Di Stasio, coming so close twice was a heartbreaking experience.

But she refused to give up and changed her perspective to get back on her feet stronger.

“The idea behind ‘Failing Forward’ is that I didn’t achieve the big goal of making the Olympic team. But it’s a four-year process and everything else I’ve accomplished in that period is not a failure,” said the part-time teacher and wrestling coach.

“It sucked back then, but wrestling is a place where you can fail and there’s no outside effect. You won’t lose your home and nothing bad will happen to your family.

“You hit rock bottom and have a week of self-pity, then you lean on the people around you – teammates, coaches, family, friends – so I dive into that side of life and then realize my heart isn’t like that is broken and return to wrestling and start again.

“Dealing with that setback in sports really helps you deal with setbacks anywhere else in life.”