PEIP.E.I.’s Keely MacGrath earned silver in wrestling at the 2025 Canada Summer Games. She dedicated the medal to her parents, including her father and coach, Matt, who has been battling cancer for two years.Keely MacGrath’s silver is one of Team P.E.I.’s four medals at Canada Games, all earned by girlsElizabeth Chiu · CBC Sports · Posted: Aug 25, 2025 6:53 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours agoKeely and Matt MacGrath during a practice session at Glacier Arena in Mount Pearl, N.L. (Elizabeth Chiu/CBC)Team P.E.I. wrestling coach Matt MacGrath was proud of his daughter even before she stepped onto the mat in her final Canada Games bout at Glacier Arena in Mount Pearl, N.L.His eldest child, Keely, 15, gave him a shiny reason to beam: a silver medal.She earned it in the 65 kg division, losing only to one competitor at these games — a 17-year-old Albertan who is also the national U-19 champion.Keely’s medal, along with a bronze in the 59 kg division delivered by Hazelbrook’s Alexsa Matheson, doubled Team P.E.I.’s medal count at the games to four — all of them earned by girls.Two bronze medals were won in the pool this month by Veronica MacLellan. The quartet of medals marks the Island’s best finish at the Canada Games since 2011, when the team won six.For Matt, a veteran coach at five Canada Games and a retired MMA fighter, his daughter’s performance exceeded all expectations.”What she did, taking out Ontario and B.C., at her age has never been done by a P.E.I. wrestler,” said Matt, who is from New Glasgow, N.S., and now lives with his family in Fort Augustus, P.E.I.WATCH | This P.E.I. wrestler’s dad is her coach. Fighting cancer is right up there with medal hopes:This P.E.I. wrestler’s dad is her coach. Fighting cancer is right up there with medal hopesA young wrestler from Fort Augustus, P.E.I., is in the medal round at the Canada Games in Newfoundland. Keely MacGrath’s coach is a retired MMA fighter — and he’s also fighting cancer. As CBC’s Elizabeth Chiu tells us, Matt MacGrath’s battle is teaching Keely how to win.This is Keely’s second trip to the games. She first competed as a 13-year-old in judo when P.E.I. hosted the 2023 Canada Winter Games. This time, she was determined to win a medal for her mother and father.”He’s 100 per cent my role model. He’s done so many great things and I hope to one day be like him,” she said.Keely’s achievement brings her closer to her dream: to compete at the Olympics in wrestling, following in the footsteps of another Islander, Hannah Taylor.’I’ll be there’Matt, who’s been battling cancer for two years, didn’t allow the disease to stop him from making it to Newfoundland.He has undergone five surgeries on his colon and liver, as well as multiple rounds of chemotherapy and radiation. He just finished more chemotherapy treatments in May.”My mother-in-law says I’m tougher than a boiled owl,” he said with a grin.Bradshaw Campbell, Keely’s godfather, helped fundraise $170,000 to ease the financial burden of Matt’s treatment. That support allowed him to keep fighting cancer while staying by his daughter’s side at tournaments.”When I was at nationals two years ago, I literally was holding on to the rail and she looked at me and she said, ‘Are you good, Dad?’ I’m like, ‘You go, I’ll be there,'” he said.Keely MacGrath with her father, Matt MacGrath, and godfather, Bradshaw Campbell, posing with the P.E.I. flag at the Canada Summer Games in St. John’s. (Submitted by Matt MacGrath)Watching him struggle has reminded Keely that cancer is “a big thing, and it definitely makes you realize that you only live once,” she said, struggling to hold back tears.The two wrestling medalists were named the closing ceremony flag bearers for Team P.E.I. on Sunday.ABOUT THE AUTHORElizabeth Chiu is an award-winning reporter in Nova Scotia. She’s passionate about engaging with the community to share their stories. Send your story idea to elizabeth.chiu@cbc.ca.
P.E.I. father coaches daughter to wrestling podium at Canada Summer Games
