Wrestler departs for Commonwealth championships

Leighton Levy, Gleaner Writer

President of the Jamaica Wrestling Federation, Kevin Wallen, departed the island yesterday for Melbourne, Australia, where he will become the first-ever Jamaican to compete at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships that will be staged from August 3-15.

Wallen, 41, who is also a motivational speaker and radio talk-show host, says he intends to win but he has other ambitions as well.

In an interview aired on 'Sportsnation Live' on Nationwide Radio last night, Wallen said he hopes his participation brings attention to the newly formed local federation and attracts young men to the sport.

"It's a great way to bring some energy to the sport and let people know it's available. I know what it did for me, and I know what it can do for young men in Jamaica," he said.

He said wrestling helped him straighten his life out when he migrated to Canada as a teenager.

"I went to Canada when I was 15 and having difficulty fitting in. I started getting into a whole heap of trouble. I got suspended and got kicked out of classes a lot and, coming off one particular suspension, my mom was very upset. I looked at her face and I knew I really didn't want to disappoint her anymore, so I started wrestling," he said.

Wallen said his involvement in the sport caused him to spend more time in the gym and with his coach, rather than hanging out with friends at the mall, which helped turn his life around.

A welcome challenge

Now a skilled freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestler, Wallen said he wrestled through high school and college before returning to Jamaica in 1999 to start a business here. He said, a couple years ago, he received a call from the president of the Common-wealth Wrestling Federation, Josip Mrkoci, asking if he wanted to promote the sport here in Jamaica, and he jumped at the chance.

"Taking a look at what it did for me, I took on the challenge, I wanted to take it on," he said.

At 41, he said he feels he is in the best shape of his life and intends to do well at the championships. Wallen added that, on his return home, he will embark on getting wrestling into high schools where he feels the sport can make a positive impact on the lives of young men in Jamaica.