Montréal, September 10, 2022 – Canada’s judokas clinched three medals at the Santo Domingo Pan-American Open in the Dominican Republic on Saturday. Julien Frascadore did particularly well, winning a silver medal in the under-66 kg category.

It was a return to the under-66 kg weight class for Frascadore, who most recently competed in the under-60 kg group. However, the change did not faze him whatsoever. In fact, he was delighted at not having to lose weight in preparation for the tournament!

“I feel good! I was looking forward to getting my bearings again and seeing how things would go. It’s different. It’s not as fast-moving, but the athletes are physically stronger. I’m happy with my performance. I had some great experiences in the under-60 kg category, but I feel like this is where I belong,” he explained.

Frascadore began his day Saturday with a down-to-the-wire victory over Colombia’s Jorge Gonzalez, before advancing to the semi-final thanks to the disqualification of Mexico’s Robin Jara. He was proud of his semi-final bout against Joaquin Tovagliari of Argentina, against whom he fought strategically in order to advance to the grand final, where he faced Willis Garcia of Venezuela. After being penalized only 30 seconds into the final match, the Québécois was defeated with 2:44 left to go in regulation time, when Garcia spun him and threw him to the ground to win by ippon.

“I know [Garcia] pretty well and I’ve fought him several times in training. Unfortunately, my strategy today didn’t work too well. When I get home, I’ll work on my errors and come back stronger next time,” added the silver medallist.

Daniel McCristall and Yanis Hachemi, who compete in the under-66 kg division, were limited to one bout each.

In the under-60 kg group, Joel Demaere was defeated in the repechage. He finished the day with a record of one win and two losses.

Munkhjin Batdorj saw similar results in the under-73 kg category, while Justin Lemire concluded the competition on the third step of the podium in the same weight class. In his fourth bout, he squared off against Eduardo Cardoso of Mexico. Both judokas quickly received two penalties each. Only thirteen seconds remained on the board when Lemire overpowered Cardoso and won by ippon.

In the same pool, Gunner Floyd lost his first and only fight of the day.

Bronze for Isabelle Harris

Isabelle Harris was the only Canadian woman to reach the podium on Saturday. She secured a bronze medal in the under-63 kg category by defeating Katia Castillo of Mexico by ippon.

Harris quickly went on the offensive in her bout against Castillo. She needed only 64 seconds to knock her opponent down and clinch the match.

In under-48 kg action, Kimiko Kamstra came up just short of a spot on the podium. She finished fifth after losing to Colombia’s Erika Lasso. Eibhleann Alexander also finished fifth in the under-57 kg group after being defeated by Panama’s Kristine Jimenez at the end of the day.

Launa Hinton (-52 kg) lost her only fight of the day.

The Pan-American Open will continue on Sunday in Santo Domingo. Laurence Biron will fight in the under-70 kg category, while Alicia Fiandor, Coralie Godbout and Mina Coulombe will compete in the under-78 kg division. Jeremie Blain (-81 kg), Alexandre Arencibia (-90 kg) and Ian Ryder (-100 kg) will also hit the tatamis on Sunday.

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada

For more information:

Patrick Esparbès
Chief Operating Officer
Judo Canada
(514) 668-6279
p.esparbes@judocanada.org