Montréal, March 22, 2014 – After winning a gold medal last Monday at the Pan-American Open in Montevideo, the judoka Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard once again climbed onto the podium, Saturday, this time at the Pan-American Open presented in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Today, the Canadian won a bronze medal in the under 57 kg class.

Beauchemin-Pinard took down the Ecuadorian Yolanda Arcos and the Brit Connie Ramsey in successive matches to reach the semi-finals. Taking on the Colombian Yadinys Amaris, who she beat in the gold medal finale in Montevideo, the 19-year-old athlete would lose her only match of the day, falling to defeat in a battle that had the two judokas separated by just one yuko.

“I felt like I was too passive in my approach against her. I didn’t take the initiative,” the Quebecoise explained. “I’m pretty disappointed by the loss, especially I beat her this past Monday. I’m already looking forward to our next match.”

In the bronze medal bout, Beauchemin-Pinard would regain her composure to beat the American Hana Carmichael, who succumbed to defeat after taking three penalties. The two judokas also faced off against each other in Uruguay.

“I’m happy to have won another bout against her. I did a great job with my grip today, a lot better than how I did in our last contest,” said the Quebecer, who finished her South American tour with two medals. “My goal coming in was to make two podiums, and I accomplished that,” exclaimed Beauchemin-Pinard, who will now prepare for the upcoming Pan-American Championships.

In the under 73 kg class, Arthur Margelidon and Alexis Morin-Martel both came away with 5^th place classifications.

After both athletes won their respective opening round matches, the two teammates faced off in the quarterfinals, a bout where Margelidon came away victorious.  Margelidon would lose his next fight however, falling in the semis to the Brazilian Marcelo Contini. Back on the tatami for a shot at a bronze medal, the Canadian would come up short, falling to the Frenchman Ugo Legrand.

After losing to his teammate, Morin-Martel would go by way of the repechage, where he came away with a win in his first bout against the Russian Khabib Murtuzov. Like Margelidon, he would end his day on a losing note, falling in the bronze medal fight to the Brazilian Joao Macedo.

In the same category, David Ancor won his duel versus the American Micheal Tusay before falling to the Frenchman Florent Urani. As for Etienne Briand, he would lose his first match against Khabib Murtuzov.

Meanwhile, Gueorgui Poklitar (60 kg) and Simon Gaudreault (66 kg) were both eliminated in the first round.

Action will pick up again Sunday, in Argentina.

Shady El Nahas wins gold in Bremen

At the Master’s tourney in Bremen, Germany, the day was highlighted by Shady El Nahas’ victory in the U-18 tournament.

Competing in the under 81 kg division, the Canadian climbed on to the top step of the podium after defeating the German Eduard Trippel in the gold medal finale.  “Shady was unstoppable today after winning 6 fights! He stayed focused all day long and fought very hard,” coach Sasha Mehmedovic pointed out.

As for Gabriel Juteau, he would go on to finish 7th in the under 66 kg class. He won his first four bouts before falling to the German Thomas Gubert in the semis. Juteau got back on track in the repechage, beating the Frenchman Adrien Palhec. He would unfortunately go on to lose his next match and a chance to compete for a bronze medal, falling to another Frenchman, Dylan Roche. “Gabriel was very close to making it into the bronze medal match, but unfortunately he made too many errors. Overall, he gained a lot of experience today,” Mehmedovic mentioned.

In the under 55 kg category, Ossama Mahmoud and Benjamin Daviau finished 9th and 13th, respectively. Mahmoud won three fights in five matches while Daviau registered a mark of two wins and two losses.

Mael Stawarz (-60 kg), Emile Charbonneau (-60 kg), Dante St-Prix (-73 kg) and Dawson Mandel (-73 kg) were all unable to receive a classification.

It will be the turn of the U-21 judokas, Sunday, to take to the tatamis in Bremen.

Tough day for the Canadian women’s team in Thuringia

Still in Germany, here at the Junior International Cup of Thuringia, the women’s Canadian contingent had a tough day on the tatamis. “Many of our judokas had difficulty adjusting to the intensity and tactics of the European athletes. There were a few positives to take away from the day, but not many,” Canadian coach Ewan Beaton admitted.

In the U-21 tourney, the Quebecer Sophie Vaillancourt obtained the team’s best result, claiming a bronze medal in the under 78 kg category after finishing her day with a record of 1-1.

Ana Laura Portuondo-Isasi came away with a 5th place classification in the under 78 kg class, finishing with one win and two losses. At -48 kg, Abby Lloyd took home a 7th place finish, after registering a win and three defeats.

Jaquina Simao (63 kg) and Emily Schaan (70 kg) both won once, but were unable to scratch out a classification.

Alicia Briggs (52 kg), Sydney Poliakwski (57 kg), Cassidy Norris (57 kg), Eugenie Lemieux (57 kg), Jessica Klimkait (57 kg), Beatrice Valois-Fortier (63 kg), Léa-Fredericke Côté (63 kg), and Mina Coulombe (70 kg) all lost in their opening round matches.

Over in the U-18 portion of the competition, none of the Canadians in action, which included Marie Besson (48 kg), Brette Poliakiwski (52 kg), Jasmine Pittsillis (57 kg), Natalie Rygielski (57 kg) and Hanako Kuno (57 kg), were able to come away with a classification.