Montreal, February 1, 2020 – Isabelle Harris and Coralie Godbout offered excellent performance on Saturday at the Adidas International Belgian Open in Herstal and Visé and won two silver medals for Canada.

Fighting in the -63 kg category, Harris won everything by ippon until the final, when she faced Japanese Ura Asumi. “It was a great tournament! I was expecting a good performance from her and she came out strong to win her second international medal,” commented coach Jean-Pierre Cantin at the end of the competition.

Earlier in the day, Harris had won three bouts in the preliminary rounds before winning again, this time against Anetta Mosr, in the semifinal.

Also in -63 kg, Alicia Fiandor ended the preliminary rounds with one victory and two losses. Her tournament ended after she was defeated by Japanese Asumi. She ranked in fifth place.

Godbout Also Eliminated by a Japanese

Just like her teammate, Coralie Godbout (-78 kg) saw her hope for a gold medal stopped by a Japanese athlete. The Quebecoise won three bouts by ippon, but lost twice against Mizuki Hasegawa, once during the gold-medal contest.

“Coralie fought well today (Saturday) and showed great form. She was defeated by a very strong opponent and she can be proud of herself. She’s still young, she’s gaining experience and showing a great progression,” added Cantin.

The only other Canadian woman in action, Alexandria Lefort, couldn’t reach the main draw in -70 kg and had a record of two victories and two losses.

Two Top 10 for the Men

At the same time, in Visé, Benjamin Kendrick and Mohab El Nahas fought their way to the main draw and both ranked in the top 10 in -90 kg.

Kendrick ended the day with a record of four victories and two losses, placing him in seventh place, while his teammate won seven out of nine bouts and ranked in ninth.

“There were a lot of athletes in that category and I think both performed well. It’s the kind of tournament where small mistakes can make a huge difference, and losing at the wrong time hurt Benjamin and Mohab,” said the Canadian coach.

Several Canadians will be in action on Sunday for the last day of the International Belgian Open.

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada

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