Previous Story
Nickole bags 2 more golds
|
Posted on Dec 13 2022
Nickole Salem poses outside the Osceola Heritage Park Event Center in Florida after winning two bronze medals in the Jiu Jitsu World League Competition last Nov. 19. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
Nickole Salem won two more gold medals in the Jiu Jitsu World League Competition held last Nov. 19 at Osceola Heritage Park Event Center in Florida.
The then 5-year-old—she turned 6 this month—went up against nine competitors in the 40-49-lb division in the Gi and No-Gi.
“Nickole was the youngest competitor at 5 years old in her division fighting against 6- and 7-year-olds. She finished all her matches with submission and secured two gold medals,” said Salem’s father Nicko.
The Jiu Jitsu World League Competition will be the younger Salem’s last major competition of the year, according to Nicko, so she can focus on her physical growth in a higher weight bracket.
“She’ll be turning 6 years old in December and it’s time for her to grow,” he said.
Despite the expected layoff, Nicko doesn’t see her daughter slowing down in her passion for the martial arts.
“Nickole is not showing any signs of wanting to stop jiu jitsu. If anything she is enjoying it more now than she’s ever had. She recently started wrestling classes and it’s helped a lot with her grappling.Nickole loves both sports and might have her compete in wrestling tournaments soon when the season opens up in December.”
Besides, it’s as if Nickole’s parents are just making her do jiu jitsu all the time.
“As parents we keep her interested in the sport by including some incentives like travel and visiting attractions around the area of the competition. Nickole loves seeing kid museums and exploring cities. Her competitiveness comes from reaching her dreams of becoming a black belt one day and opening her own gym. That’s a crazy dream for a 5-year-old, but we feel it’s attainable in the future. Whatever it is she desires to do in life, we will be here to support her,” said Nicko.
The elder Salem is a 2012 graduate of Saipan Southern High School, while his wife and Nickole’s mother, Maria Victoria, is an alumnae of Marianas High School.
