Montreal, July 27, 2017 – Three representatives from team Canada and two from team Canada-Quebec climbed onto the podium Thursday at the Jeux de la Francophonie, being held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Louis Krieber-Gagnon clinched the U90 kg final with an impressive throw against Switzerland’s Tobias Meier that enabled him to score an ippon. His was the fourth gold medal for team Canada-Quebec since the games began earlier this week.

Louis Krieber-Gagnon with his medal

“I wasn’t sure what to expect. I just wanted to do whatever it took to win. I’m very happy to have succeeded!” stated Krieber-Gagnon following the medal ceremonies.

“The atmosphere here is really great. Even though the spectators don’t know a lot about judo, they’re creating a great atmosphere,” he added.

On his way to the finals, the Québécois won all of his combats in the preliminaries and the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, he beat Alex Colpitts of team Canada-New Brunswick.

In the bronze medal final, Colpitts faced off against another Canadian teammate, Zachary Burt, who was representing team Canada. Burt won the bout by ippon to capture the medal.

Jean-François Ouellet, Marc Deschênes, Mina Coulombe, Louis Krieber-Gagnon et Zachary Burt

Mina Colombe (U78 kg) added a silver medal to team Canada’s haul. She ousted Jessy Malbrook of Seychelles by ippon in the quarter-finals and won her semi-final match against Audrey Dilane Njepang Njapa of Cameroon in overtime. In her final bout, she was caught off guard by France’s Stessie Bastareaud, who scored an ippon to take the gold.

“Mina faced some tough opponents today. In the final, Bastareaud was very, very physical. Also, Mina was sick this week so she’s not in top shape. I’m very proud of her,” noted Jean-Pierre Cantin, coach for team Canada.

Marc Deschênes (Canada) had a perfect record until the final round, where he won the silver medal in the U100 kg division. His winning streak came to an end when he faced off against Nell Honore Ariano Rebouka of France. In his previous rounds, he beat Prince Kosi Samuzu of DR Congo in the quarter-final and followed with a victory by ippon over Ousmane Diallo of Mali in the semi-final.

“It was a good day for all the Canadians. I think Marc could have won the gold medal. He made a slight error but he really dominated the whole bout. Maybe his confidence was too high,” opined Cantin.

Andrew Blaney (U100 kg) of team Canada-New Brunswick was eliminated in the repechage by Prince Kosi Samuzu of DR Congo.

In the +100 kg division, Jean François Ouellet (Canada-Quebec) was ousted by ippon by Mbagnic Ndiaye of Senegal in the semi-final and went on to fight for a bronze medal. He pulled out all the stops to score an ippon against Adil Hajji of Morocco and step up to the third level of the podium.

Andrew Vienneau (Canada- New Brunswick) also competed in the +100 kg class. His day came to an end in the repechage, when he succumbed to an ippon by Cameroon’s Daniel Urbain Mepui Anong.

Sarah Perks wound up at the foot of the podium in the +78 kg group. The team Canada representative lost to Carole Imongo Kimberly of DR Congo in a fight for one of two bronze medals and placed fifth in her category.

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada
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