From left to right: Harris, Ryder, Godbout and Fiandor

Montreal, February 9, 2020 – After winning four medals on Saturday, Canadian judokas fighting at the Vejle Open sustained their momentum on Sunday in Denmark, this time in the U21 category. The Canadian team added four medals to their collection, notably two golds from Ian Ryder (-100 kg) and Isabelle Harris (-63 kg), who each won in their respective categories.

Canada was also guaranteed two medals in -63 kg as Isabelle Harris and Alicia Fiandor both earned a spot in the final.

After winning a silver medal on Saturday, Harris, from Mission, in British Columbia, defeated her teammate from Nanaimo to achieve her fifth victory of the day on the mats.

“It was a great day for Isabelle. She worked well and stayed focused,” commented the national team coach Jean-Pierre Cantin.

Fiandor also was on a winning sequence after four contests. Her only loss of the day was against Harris. “Today was a better day for Alicia, because she finally stood on the podium for the first time on this tour,” added Cantin.

Also fighting, but in -78 kg, Coralie Godbout added to the medal collection when she stood on the second step of the podium, a repeat performance from Saturday.

After getting a bye through the first round, the Saint-Charles-de-Bellechasse (QC) native won her first two matches before facing Czech Radka Voriskova, who had defeated her on Saturday in the final.

“Coralie was almost perfect. She won everything by ippon until the finale, but she lost against the same opponent as yesterday. She gave a great performance, but the Czech scored in overtime.”

Ryder Double Gold Medallist

Twenty-four hours after winning a first gold medal in the senior category, Ian Ryder won a second one on Sunday in the U21 category.

The Richmond (BC) native had a perfect record and stood on the highest step of the podium.

There were four competitors in the -100 kg category, meaning that Ryder had to face the other three. His three victories put him on top of the ranking.

“Ian dominated his three opponents and easily won the gold,” said Jean-Pierre Cantin.

Montrealer Alexandre Arencibia was also in action in -81 kg, but had to forfeit after his first match because of an injury.

“Aside from Alex’s injury, it was an excellent day for our Canadians,” added Jean-Pierre Cantin.

Cadet European Cup: Munkhjin Batdorj in Bronze

Canada also performed during the Cadet European Cup in Follonica, in Italy. Lavallois Munkhjin Batdorj stood on the third step of the podium in -73 kg.

After getting a bye through the first round, the Canadian athlete won the three following bouts before fighting Marcell Demeter in the semifinal. After being defeated by the Hungarian, he was victorious again in the bronze-medal contest against Greek Stavros Doumas.

Ontarian Amr Abd Elrehim nearly reproduced his teammate’s performance in -90 kg. After also losing the semifinal, he was defeated again in the bronze-medal match and ranked in fifth place.

Evelyn Beaton had won Canada’s first medal on Saturday with a silver medal in the -48 kg category.

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada

Information:
Patrick Esparbès
Chief Operating Officer
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p.esparbes@judocanada.org