Montréal, November 17, 2023 – Motivated by their bronze medal wins the day before, Laurence Gagnon (-52 kg) and Tigran Kryvtskyi (-81 kg) both enjoyed another top-notch day of Cadet judo action on the tatamis of Centre Pierre-Charbonneau on Friday, where they both won gold at the Montréal Judo Panamerican Cup.

Gagnon was the first of the two to make good on her victory on Friday, with a convincing win over Avery Gibney. A bronze medal win in the previous day’s events was a huge motivation for Gagnon – from Club Judokas de Jonquière – who went all the way to the top of the podium Friday.

“My defeat yesterday (Thursday) gave me a little push to convince me not to make too many mistakes today (Friday). It gave me hope, and I realized that I was capable of aiming very high in Cadet competitions. I was really excited about going for gold,” said Laurence Gagnon.

Gibney had also been defeated by Laurence Gagnon on Thursday in the bronze medal final. Even though Gagnon knew she was capable of getting the best of her fellow judoka, Gagnon left nothing to chance in their final encounter.

“Today was a success! It was really my mission to win the gold medal and I’m really proud of myself. I reacted superbly to my opponent’s attacks and movements. I believed in myself, but I still had a little fear. In the end, everything fell into place for me to win,” added the she who was taking part in her very last cadet competition.

“I’m proud to be able to say that I finished my cadet career on a high note. It motivates me for next year, when I’ll only be competing in the junior category.”

In the same category, Québec’s Mélody Grenier won one of the bronze medals up for grabs.

A total of 15 other Canadian athletes won medals in the cadet category on Friday. Frédérique Lavigne (+70 kg), Charline Bourque (-70 kg) and Maralgoo Batbayar (-63 kg) will take home gold. Marianna Karas (+70 kg), Missy Jen Dorval Mbele (-70 kg), Juniper Wong (-57 kg) and Maria-Magdaleina Delye (-44 kg) earned themselves silver medals.

Naomi Fowler (+70 kg), Annika Michaluk (-70 kg), Abigail Smith (-70 kg), Charlie Thibault (-63 kg), Alandra Steiger (-63 kg), Alyssa Tkachenko (-57 kg), Carla Van Zyl (-57 kg) and Maya Roy (-44 kg) all earned bronze medals for their efforts.

“I’m just happy” – Tigran Kryvtskyi

In the Under-81kg category, Tigran Kryvtskyi also made the most of his final cadet competition, winning the gold medal in his class.

“I still find it hard to express how I feel! I think I’m just happy. I’ve been working really hard for a really long time to get wins like today’s, and I’m very, very happy,” said Kryvtskyi.

Bronze medallist the previous day in the junior category, Kryvtskyi admitted that he was slowly feeling the effects of fatigue in Friday’s final against Slovenia’s Maj Kavnik. However, he followed the advice of his Coach Vitalii Polyanskyy to overcome his opponent.

“I knew that the Slovenian was an excellent judoka and that it wouldn’t be easy at all. After a minute, I managed a waza-ari before landing a choke to win. My coach Vitalii was a great help, I don’t know what I could have done without him,” he noted.

“After yesterday, I felt pretty tired, but I think that also pushed me to give it my all today. Being able to go for bronze in the Juniors proved to me that I could achieve something even greater in the Cadets. It’s also motivating for the future, as expectations will be high next year when I’ll officially be a Junior,” concluded Kryvtskyi.

To reach the apex of the podium, Kryvtskyi defeated Joackim Houle in the quarter-finals before defeating eventual bronze medallist Mohammad Said Habib in the semi-finals.

No less than 18 additional Canadian judokas won medals Friday in the cadet categories, including gold, won by: Loic Beaton (-55 kg), Fahd Fithane (-66 kg), Artem Neyolov (-73 kg), Yehor Paladii (-90 kg) and Mohammed Amine Silem (+90 kg).

Xavier Brouillette (-55 kg), Dennis Neyolov (-60 kg), Lowan Le Bris (-66 kg), Tomo Di Cesare (-73 kg) et Oleksansdr Kaplin (-90 kg) were able to step onto the second step of the podium, whereas Maxwell Mulingtapang (-55 kg), Nathan Thiel (-55 kg), Matthew Schesnuik (-60 kg), Eliandre Barriault-Tremblay (-60 kg), Luka Tsatsalashvili (-66 kg), Edouard Scorteanu (-73 kg), Munkhu Batbayar (-90 kg) and Cai James grabbed third place spots.

Amazing judo action resumes on Saturday at Centre Pierre-Charbonneau, when Seniors step onto the tatami at the Montréal Panamerican Open.

For more information about the Montréal Panamerican Open, click here.

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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