A Dream Passed Down

Grappling has always run in the Aquino family. Mia and Rckaela’s dad and uncles trained in both judo and wrestling, and their dad aspired to compete in the Olympics. That dream was one he passed down to his daughters. 

“As soon as we turned 5 and 4, we just started wrestling, and the rest is history,” says Mia, the older of the two sisters.

The journey, however, was not without its challenges. While Mia viewed wrestling as a passion they were now sharing with their dad, Rckaela initially struggled with the sport.

“I didn’t like it at first, to be honest,” Rckaela reveals. “It was a lot of pressure for me and a lot of crying, and I felt like it was just really hard.”

A turning point came in 2016, when Rckaela accompanied Mia to Mongolia for Mia’s first-ever Olympic qualifier attempt. In the training room, they saw a host of female wrestlers, including World Championship gold medalist Helen Maroulis, who was part of the U.S. team. Being surrounded by such high-caliber talent was eye-opening for Rckaela.

“I was like, ‘Wow, I want that for Guam. I want to do that for Guam,’ and in that moment, the dream became my dream instead of my dad’s,” she says.

 

Homegrown Skill in Global Arenas

Driven by a clear goal and guided by their dad’s coaching, Mia and Rckaela spent over a decade proving their mettle in regional and global competitions, such as the Micronesian Games and the World Wrestling Championships, often medaling in their respective weight classes. They represented Guam in countries all over the world, including New Zealand, Samoa, Kazakhstan, Hungary, and China.

A pivotal milestone was reached when Rckaela qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She became the first female athlete from Guam to qualify on merit in any sport.

In wrestling, qualifying on merit means that instead of accumulating points or receiving a pre-assigned spot reserved for a country, spots are earned by winning a designated qualifying tournament outright. For Guam wrestlers, one such tournament is the Africa-Oceania Olympic Qualifier.

In 2024, both Rckaela and Mia made the three-day voyage from Guam to the Africa-Oceania Olympic Qualifier in Egypt. In another triumph, they won their respective brackets and secured their spots to represent the island in Paris, effectively earning the honor of being the first siblings from Guam to qualify on merit for the same Olympic Games in the same sport.

The historic accomplishment was especially meaningful to the sisters. Not only did they finally achieve their dream of making it to the Olympics together, but the journey also reaffirmed their belief that success could be cultivated right at home.

“We were just training on Guam. We didn’t have to move away. It takes a lot, but if we can do it, anyone can,” Mia says. “Coming from a small island, it really showed that no dream is too small and that we qualify here, we belong here.”

 

Staying the Course 

Even after making their marks in the last Olympic Games, Mia and Rckaela have refused to become complacent. They train six days a week, sometimes up to two sessions a day. Mornings are for cardio conditioning, while afternoons are dedicated to wrestling techniques and sparring. Each session usually lasts for three to four hours.

Despite the grueling physical demands of the sport, the sisters agree that 99% of wrestling is actually a mental game.

“It’s that whole wrestling mindset: you’re either gonna do it, or you’re not gonna do it. You’re stressed? Okay. You still have to go to training at the end of the day,” Mia says.

For Rckaela, overcoming anxiety before matches, and even before practice, remains a work in progress. “I’m still learning about myself and figuring out how to deal with nerves so that they don’t affect me,” she shares.

The mental toughness the Aquinos have built throughout their athletic careers has also been crucial in helping them balance other aspects of their lives. Along with part-time jobs, they are working towards earning their degrees in Health Science, with Mia emphasizing in Pre-Physical Therapy and Rckaela emphasizing in Exercise Science and Health Promotion.

Family, friends, and even professors at UOG have been sources of external support, providing the encouragement and flexibility the sisters need to manage work, academics, and training. Coupled with their own discipline and determination, the support systems help keep Mia and Rckaela focused on their goals.

 

Building Legacies

The next few years will be busy for the duo. Once they complete their bachelor’s, they hope to hang their grad gowns alongside new sets of Olympic wrestling singlets, as they aim for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The road to gold won’t be easy, but Mia and Rckaela have walked the path before and understand what exists on the other side of the sacrifices.

“All the long hours at training, all the missed birthdays and family parties—it pays off. It pays off because in the end, we’re on that Olympic stage. Win or lose, we have that title. We can call ourselves Olympians,” Mia declares.

But even beyond personal victories, Mia and Rckaela envision a future in which they give back. They plan on entering healthcare careers where they can offer wellness services like physical therapy and nutrition guidance to athletes. And just as their dad passed on his love for wrestling to them, Mia and Rckaela want to pay that same passion forward to others.

“I would like us to really build the next generation. If we can get more people into wrestling, especially females, that’ll be the greatest for me,” Rckaela says. “Wrestling offers you room to grow more self-confident and to be able to hold your own. It can change lives; it changed mine.”

“Wrestling on Guam is not going to stop at us. It’s going to continue on, even when we leave the sport,” Mia assures.
It will be a long while before the Aquinos retire from the mats, but in the meantime, they continue to push forward with the heart and dedication of true champions.