It’s not like USA Wrestling didn’t try. Executive director Rich Bender estimated four straight years of failed attempts to hire Tonya Verbeek before Iowa pulled off what our national governing body could not.
Hawkeye coach Clarissa Chun snagged Verbeek as an assistant when the upstart program began in 2022. The Grimsby, Ontario, native spent the past four years in Iowa City molding college athletes.
Now, in 2026, USA Wrestling got who they wanted — a barrier breaker with loads of credentials and experience. Tonya Verbeek is the new National Women’s Freestyle Assistant and Resident Coach, a role previously held by Chun.
“I thought (Tonya) would be a good asset for us to have, so I recruited her and looked for ways to bring her on board,” Bender said in 2023. “It might be arrogant to say this, but she had an American wrestler’s mentality.
“She’s really tough and gritty — just an absolute champion. Somebody who embodies the trademark of the American system. I heard a lot of good things about her as a coach and, as you know, there’s not a guarantee that great athletes transition into great coaches.”
Verbeek defeated future Olympic champion Helen Maroulis at the 2012 Dave Schultz Memorial International
On the mat, Verbeek might be the greatest Canadian wrestler ever. She began competing in 1992 at 16, then made a Senior World team in 1995 at 18. It took another nine years before she qualified for the 2004 Olympics.
“I was hooked after a month,” Verbeek said during a 2020 interview with Trackwrestling. “I was a feisty teenager who loved playing sports. I liked trying things that were different and maybe not perceived quite as normal for a girl at that time.”
Verbeek won silver, bronze, and silver at the 2004, 2008, and 2012 Olympics in addition to bronze, bronze, and silver at the 2005, 2009, and 2011 Worlds. She lost to Japan’s Saori Yoshida every year she won a medal.
Yoshida is a 16-time World and Olympic champion (2002-15) who famously lost to Helen Maroulis of the United States in the gold medal finals at the 2016 Olympic Games.
Verbeek nearly knocked off Yoshida during a controversial 2011 World final. A year after that, Verbeek scored a win over Maroulis at the 2012 Dave Schultz Memorial International by using a distinctly rugged and tough-minded style.
Tonya Verbeek At The Worlds And Olympics
Verbeek nearly upset Saori Yoshida at the 2011 World Championships during a controversial finish
Verbeek’s role as Canada’s head men’s and women’s national team coach from 2019-21 was a breakthrough moment. She stood out at competitions — especially when she was coaching men.
“I would look around at the World Championships, and there weren’t any other female coaches doing both,” Verbeek said in 2020.
The University of Iowa produced two national team titles and a runner-up finish at the 2026 NCAA Women’s Wrestling Championships while Verbeek was there. The Canadian’s new role allows her to build an American contingent with National Team coach Terry Steiner.
And that’s an important job as the U.S. women's freestyle team builds toward the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“Things haven’t been easy for Tonya,” Steiner said in 2023. “She had plenty of opportunities to walk away from the sport with nothing, and she chose to stick with it. Through that struggle, I think she learned a lot about herself and about dealing with heartbreak and understanding the sport.”
Verbeek was the anchor for Canada's most successful era in women's freestyle wrestling. The Canadians finished second, second, third, and second at the World Championships from 2008 to 2011 while Verbeek was on the team.