Toronto, July 14, 2015 – The sport of judo added two more medals to Canada’s medal haul on Tuesday night, at the end of the last day of judo competitions at the Toronto Pan-Ams. Marc Deschênes snatched the silver medal, and Catherine Roberge came away with the bronze.

 In the Under 100kg final, Marc Deschênes, 49^th in the world, bowed out to Brazil’s Luciano Correa, 14^th. “The silver medal is a positive outcome, although I would have loved to get the gold,” said the Quebec judoka.

 Deschênes, who hails from Laval, took four penalties and the bout was called to a stop. “He beat me strategically, getting me to take penalties. He didn’t even really attack, but I think he was smarter than me.”

 “I tried to grab his sleeve, but my attacks left a bit to be desired. My grip was not perfect. He was never under threat.”

 In the semi-final, Deschênes was up against Cuba’s Jose Armenteros, 9^th in the world and world vice-champion, who ended up being disqualified. “I put him under threat and the panicked. He grabbed my leg and got disqualified.”

“I’ve had a few strokes of bad luck in tournaments lately, so I’ll take it!,” he said.

 American Ajax Tadehara was the Quebec athlete’s first victim in the first round.

 On the women’s side, Catherine Roberge, 24^th in the world, made it to the third step of the podium by eliminating Chilean Jacqueline Usnayo, 51^st, in the fight for the bronze.

“I am very happy with my bronze medal. The Chilean is really strong, physically, and very dangerous. I absolutely had to score points and I did just that, right at the beginning of the match.”

 In the end, it was that yuko that got Roberge on the podium. “I didn’t want to take penalties for no good reason, so I kept the pace,” said the Quebecoise.

 The semi-final pitted her against American Kayla Harrison, first in the world, and Harrison came out on top, after Roberge took three penalties. “We know each other well. I’ve beaten her several times and she’s beaten me several times, but she’s extremely strategic. She’s not an Olympic champion for nothing! Her game was strong, and I should have been more on the attack,” admitted the 33-year-old.

 In the opening round, the Beauport native disposed of Ecuador’s Diana Chala by getting her to take two penalties. “These girls are so strong, so I had to be on the careful side. I would have loved to throw her, but she was expecting that, so I took the strategic approach.”

 In his first match, Ajax, Ontario judoka Martin Rygielski was defeated by ippon by Honduran Ramon Pileta, in the Over 100kg division.

 Next tournament on the schedule for Canadian judokas: the Grand Slam of Tyumen, Russia, next weekend.

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada