Great Start for the Canadians !
9 September 2023
Next-Generation Canadian Judokas Wrap Up Weekend with Two Silver Medals in Mixed Team Competition
10 September 2023
A mere 24 hours after Team Canada’s cadet athletes won 11 medals at the PanAm and Oceania Championships, the squad of junior judokas added eight more to the Canadian medal haul on Saturday in Calgary.
Charlize Isabelle Medilo was the first Canadian junior judoka to win a gold medal. The Canuck fought in the Under 48 kg final against American Harlee Hiller to win gold. The gold win was her third win of the day, following victories over teammate Heidi Quach and Australia’s Anneliese Fielder.
Following her defeat by Medilo, Canadian Quach lost to American Jayne Loo and finished fifth.
Judoka Evelyn Beaton went straight through to the final in the Under 52 kg category after winning her bout against American Kaycie Tanimoto. Beaton took on and bested Brazil’s Fabiane Pires to get to the top of the podium.
Laurence Biron also scored herself a gold, triumphing in the Under 70 kg category. The Quebecer had been penalized twice in the bout, but rallied back to defeat Brazil’s Kaillany Cardoso in overtime.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself for this competition and everything went well, so I’m really happy! I made sure I was ready for all my bouts. I wanted to have fun and remember why I love judo so much,” said Biron, who claimed victories over Australia’s Avalon Anskey, and the U.S.’s Shavon Gonzalez.
“I knew that no matter what happened, I was going to learn a lot here. I focused on the positive. I wanted a podium finish, so I’m very happy with a gold medal!” she said.
Mahee Savoie snapped up a bronze after defeating Mexico’s Frida Maya in the Under 57 kg category. Catherine Toshkov was sadly limited to one bout on Saturday against Mexico’s Sherlyn Caiseros.
Sarah Ekosky took fifth place in the Under 63 kg category, with a scorecard of one win and two losses, while Rebeca Manaila lost in the first round of the same category to Mexico’s Naomi Pozo Flores.
Brandi Lingley, the last Canadian to take to the tatami, ended her Over 78 kg class tournament with two defeats.
“I was ready for anything!
But wait, what about the men? Fear not, Team Canada’s male contingent also had something to add to all this Canadian success.
Jumber Meladze took on competitors in the Under 81 kg final on Saturday, and his bout against Brazil’s Kauan Dos Santos required overtime to determine a winner. In the end, Meladze scored an ippon after 53 seconds had been added to regulation time.
“I’ve been training very hard and I can now see that it’s going in the right direction with good results,” shared Meladze. It was a good fight! I had prepared well for this competition and I was confident that I could win gold. I was ready for anything!
For this particular gold medallist, there’s no doubt that this great performance represents just the beginning in his career. “It’s an important victory, at a high level! Judo is a sport of discipline and patience. If you work hard and stay calm, the results will come.”
Lasha Tsatsalashvili left his PanAm event with a silver medal to his credit. The Canadian did his best, but was unable to impose his rhythm against Brasil’s Gabriel Falcao in the Under 73 kg final.
Arthur Karpukov came very close to accompanying Tsatsalashvili on the podium, but lost his bronze medal duel with Brazil’s Vinicius Ardina and ended up finishing fifth.
Defeated by Ecuador’s Kevin Ayala in his fourth bout, Frederic De Cardaillac also finished at the foot of the podium in the Under 66 kg category.
However, the story had a different ending for Alec Garand, in action in the Under 90 kg category; Garand scored his second win of the day in the bronze final, where he got the better of Chile’s Noel Nunoz. Garand had lost to Mexico’s Jeremy Olivares in the first round before beating American Harutyun Mutafyan in the repechage.
In the Under 60kg class, Raphael Gaanan defeated Argentina’s Galo Villavicencio before losing to American Christopher Velazco. In the repechage, he lost to Australia’s Angus Hutcheon. Daniil Kremerman lost his only bout to Mexico’s Eduardo Sagastegui.
John Jr Messe A Bessong gave Canada a final gold medal finish at the very end of the day: he needed less than 30 seconds to defeat Dominican judoka Jose Miguel Brache Jarquin in the Over 100 kg class. It was a second win for the Quebecois athlete, who had also defeated Chile’s Patricio Urra.
Judo thrills continue – but also conclude – with team events at the PanAm and Oceania Championships on Sunday, in both cadet and junior classes.
