Montréal, August 2^nd, 2014 – It was a solid day for the Canadian contingent at the Pan-American Open in Miami on Saturday, as four of their eight judokas in action came away with a podium finish in their respective categories.

Brandon Jobb (-90 kg) won a silver medal after putting together a perfect record all the way up until the grand finale, where he succumbed to defeat versus the Brazilian Eduardo Silva.

“It was an almost perfect day,” Jobb commented. I went up against a top-notch judoka in the finale. I felt like I gave everything I had, and my coach really helped me a lot as well.”

“It’s actually the second time I’ve fought Silva, and the first time he beat me quite easily,” he added. “Today I fought him much better, and it resulted in a much closer fight. I made one error and it cost me the match. I feel like I can only get better from here, and hopefully in about 6 months I’ll be able to beat this guy.”

Alix Renaud-Roy (-70 kg) came away with a 3^rd place finish, winning two of her three matches. Her only loss came in the semifinals against defending world champion, the Colombian Yuri Alvear. She rebounded in the repechage with a win by ippon over the Czech judoka Alena Eiglova.

“I really had an excellent outing today, expect for my semifinal bout against the defending world champion,” Renaud-Roy commented. “Everything was going well until l made an error and she threw me to the ground.”

“With the Olympic selection process now under way, obviously you want to come away with the best results possible, so in that sense, it’s a bit disappointing to have not done better,” she added. “But in the end, I’m fairly content with my day.”

Monika Burgess did not have the same success in the under 70 kg division, finishing her tourney with a 5^th place classification after winning one of her three matches.

Ana-Laura Portuondo-Isasi walked away with a bronze medal in the under 78 kg class, despite suffering an ippon loss in the semis. She was able to get back on track in the repechage, where she came away with a victory by ippon over the Guatemalan Mirla Nolberto Labriel, propelling her to a 3^rd place finish.

“I was really happy with my first bout against the Portuguese Yaima Ramirez, whom I defeated with a waza-ari,” Portuondo-Isasi explained. “She came at me hard, and she was very intense. I beat her by being more physical.”

“In the semis I went up against the American Kayla Harrison who was also very physical. It was a good fight for me because I need more experience against top-end judokas.”

Bishop Sommerfeld (-78 kg) lost his one and only match of the day, falling by an ippon to the Salvadorian Veronica Mendoza.

Marc Deschênes (-100 kg) won a bronze medal after finishing with a record of two wins and one loss. In the 3^rd place match, Deschênes came away victorious against the American Ajax Tadehara, winning by an ippon.

“Things went fairly well today,” Deschênes said. “I lost in the semis to a guy that I was able to beat last week. He caught me by surprise in the match today. I should have been more on my guard, and it’s possible that I didn’t take him seriously enough. I felt like I could have made the final, but it’s okay.”

In the under 81 kg category, Zachary Burt settled for a 5^th place finish, winning two bouts and losing two. He lost his last two matches, including his bronze medal tilt in the repechage with the Chilean Fernando Salazar.

Ignacio Rodriguez (+ 100 kg) also came away with a 5^th place classification, winning one of his three bouts. He lost his 3^rd place match against the Puerto Rican Rafael Ferrer.

Tough day in Berlin

On the other side of the Atlantic at the Junior European Cup of Berlin, the Canadian contingent had far less success than their senior counterparts.

Mahmoud Ossama placed 9^th in the under 55 kg category, finishing with a record of 2-2. Despite renewing hope with a win by ippon in his first match of the repechage against the Dutchman Koen Van Zeijl, he fell in his next bout to the Bulgarian Valentin Alipiev, losing with two penalties.

Gueorgui Poklitar (-66 kg) lost his only match, falling at the hands of the Russian Alexandr Kulikovskih in the prelims.

Patrick Cantin suffered the same fate in the under 73 kg class, losing his opening match by an ippon to the Hungarian Hongrois Gyula Pal.

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada