PURCELLVILLE, Va. — Ibrahim Zaky was forced to take much of the 2020 calendar year off from competitive wrestling due to the ongoing pandemic. But he quickly got back to work in March 2021 and has become one of the country’s top youth wrestlers at the 160-pound class.

The Purcellville resident won five gold medals in various wrestling competitions from March to June 2021. He won at the 145-pound 12-and-under class at the Mason Dixon League Championship, and he soon won gold medals in the 160-pound Virginia Wrestling Association Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling championships.

He then went out to the USA Wrestling Nationals in Wisconsin in late June to compete against many of the country’s other top young wrestlers. He won a gold medal in the freestyle competition and a bronze in the Greco-Roman event, both at 160 pounds and at 12-and-under.

“What you’ve done, young man, is place us on the national map,” Purcellville mayor Kwasi Fraser said during a ceremony honoring Zaky at Purcellville’s Town Council. “This is no small task. We appreciate what you have done.”

Zaky has been wrestling for the past five years. While he had tried various other sports like rugby and soccer, he found wrestling to be the one that he is the most talented in playing.

“(Wrestling) was very focused on individual wins and losses, and also incorporated camaraderie with the team,” his mother Hibah Salah said. She also said that Zaky likes the dynamic of how every individual wrestler’s performance counts towards the team’s overall score, thus prompting all the wrestlers to work together to win.

Zaky is currently a student at Blue Ridge Middle School, and he is hoping to improve his skills, especially in the Greco-Roman field.

“I want to get stronger, especially with upper body strength, and I want to be more flexible,” Zaky said.

The two forms of wrestling that Zaky competes in are very different from one another. Freestyle wrestling allows the arms and legs to be used for offense and defense. Greco-Roman wrestling is more challenging, as the style does not allow any attacks below the waist. The legs cannot be used for takedowns either.

Zaky will be looking forward to competing in many other competitions in the future. TrackWrestling states that as of November 2021, he has a record of 16-3 with 14 pins in major competitions. His goal is to keep building his skills and to compete further in many exciting events against the country’s top wrestlers.

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