Montreal, March 7^th, 2015 – Quebecker judoka Stéphanie Tremblay won the silver medal during the Pan American Open in Santiago on Saturday. Chile was also good to Ecaterina Guica, who won one of the two bronze medals in the under 52 kg category.

Tremblay lost the finale in the under 63 kg category against the Mexican Andrea Gutierrez.

“I had a good fight during the finale bout against the Mexican. 8 seconds before the end, there were no points on the score board and I wanted to put some pressure because I thought she deserved a penalty for the last sequence. By putting more pressure, I stepped too close and she attacked. The yuko given by the judges when there was 0 second left was pretty questionable” said Tremblay.

Before going to the finale, she was on a winning streak. She won her first bout by ippon against the Colombian Diana Velasco. During the quarterfinal, the athlete from Saguenay won against the American Leilani Akiyama with two penalties. She then won the semi-final by ippon against the Ecuadorian Estefania Garcia.

“The day started off pretty well. During the quarterfinal, I really dominated. I attacked more and I had some good opportunities, which didn’t give me any points but gave her a penalty. During the semi-final against the Ecuadorian, I was leading with a penalty but then she attacked and grabbed my leg. It’s forbidden now, so she was disqualified,” she said.

“I’m really disappointed for not winning the title like I did last year in the under 57 kg, especially since this victory was possible. It’s still my first international medal in my new category (under 63 kg since January), so it’s positive,” added the Quebecker.

“This was a good result for Stéphanie since she just moved up to the -63 kg category one month ago. Her final ended with a very questionable call from the referees,” said the Canadian coach Sasha Mehmedovic.

Fighting in the same category, Béatrice Valois-Fortier finished 7^th. She won her first round by ippon against the Argentinian Gimena Laffeuillade. She then lost by ippon against the American Hannah Martin, ranked 16^th in the world. During the repechage, the Quebecker lost by shido against the Ghanaian Szandra Szogedi.

Guica (52 kg) won by ippon against the Mexican Monica Hernandez during the finale for bronze medal.

After benefitting from a bye through the first round, she won by ippon against the Mexican Jennifer Cruz. The Quebecker then won the quarterfinal by ippon against the American Angelina Delgado. During the semi-final, Guica lost by ippon against the Russian Yulia Ryzhova.

“Ecatarina looked good today. She is coming back from a recent injury and this medal is very good for her confidence. This is a good start for both fighters on the South American circuit,” said Mehmedovic.

Bronze medal barely escapes Margelidon

Arthur Margelidon (73 kg) lost by ippon against the Spanish Javier Ramirez during their bout for the bronze medal. During the repechage, the athlete from Montreal won by ippon against the Dominican Lwilli Santana.

After benefitting from a bye through the first round, Margelidon won by ippon against the Spanish Ares Herrero Osorno. During the quarterfinal, he fought against the Russian Alim Gadanov, ranked 12^th in the under 66 kg category. Gadanov won by yuko. Margelidon had three penalties during that bout.

Also in the under 73 kg category, Montreal judoka David Ancor lost by penalties (3-1) against the Russian Alim Gadanov.

The day also ended early for Gueorgui Poklitar (66 kg), who won his opening bout by penalties against the Argentinian Laureano Martin, only to lose by ippon against the Domonican Wander Mateo later.

Ana Laura Portuondo Isasi (78 kg), Robert Edward (90 kg) and Marc Deschênes (100 kg) will be the ones to watch on Sunday during the Santiago Open.

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada