Sunderland-born British Wrestling Champion aiming for Olympic glory one day
A Sunderland teenager is hoping to one day bring an Olympic medal back to Wearside.
Micah Naisbet, 19, from Hylton Castle, has been wrestling since he was just six-years-old - and he’s been on a winning streak ever since.
A multiple freestyle wrestling champion, he recently won the Under 20's British freestyle wrestling championships, held in Manchester.
He has also been selected to represent the Great Britain Team in the under 20's European freestyle wrestling championships after wrestling his way to a silver medal in Spain at international competition.
Micah has travelled across Europe with the sport, winning medals at international events in France, Estonia and Spain and is Sunderland’s first ever British freestyle wrestling champion.
He hones his skills six times a week at Stockton Spartans, one of the few dedicated wrestling gyms in the area.
Micah is already six time British Champion and five time English Champion and has been a GB team member for under 17s and under 20s - and he has his sights set even higher.
Freestyle wrestling, along with Greco-Roman, is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games and becoming one of the few Mackems to make the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics is Micah’s top goal.
He said: “I already did jiu jitsu and started wrestling when I was six and really enjoyed it. It feels really good to win and I feel proud of what I’ve achieved.
“I would love to compete at Olympic level.”
In the meantime, Micah is off to the U20 European Championships, which take place in Serbia from June 24 to July 7, which is the world’s second-biggest wrestling competition after the Olympics.
All of Micah’s competitions are self-funded so he’s always looking for potential sponsors. You can contact him via Instagram @micahbjj