Edmonton, January 13, 2024 – Fifteen judokas were crowned U18 Canadian Champion on Saturday at the Elite National Championships in Edmonton.

Of the fifteen, seven girls claimed the top spots in their respective weight divisions at the University of Alberta Sports Centre.

Brooke MacArthur of Prince Edward Island claimed gold in the under-44 kg category after stringing together four straight wins by ippon. New Brunswick’s Naomi Fowler, who remained undefeated in the under-70 kg round robin, also clinched gold.

Carla Vanzyl of British Columbia shone in the under-57 kg group.

“I’m so happy with how things played out! I had a plan for the final. I managed to stick to it, and it worked,” said Vanzyl, who won her three bouts by ippon. “I was a bit nervous, but I felt confident in my judo. I knew that whatever happened, I’d be able to get through it.”

Four Québécoises secured gold medals in the Alberta capital.

Mélody Grenier (-52 kg), Charlie Thibault, (-63 kg), and Charline Bourque (-70 kg) concluded the competition with three victories in as many bouts, and Valeria Kostrovets won the under-48 kg division.

On the boys’ side, eight judokas were decorated with gold at the end of the day.

Justin Webber was one of them. The Albertan won all three of his bouts in the under-50 kg category. British Columbia’s Nathan Thiel also won his three bouts to take top honours in the under-55 kg category.

Alberta’s Aden Kim (-60 kg) and British Columbia’s Lowan Le Bris (-66 kg) enjoyed similar successes on their way to the top of the podium in their respective weight divisions.

Ditto for Zachary Harris of British Columbia (-73 kg), Davit Ukhurgunashvili of Ontario (-81 kg), and Munkh-Erdene Batbayar of Alberta (-90 kg).

“It feels great! I didn’t really know what to expect today, but I felt confident. I wanted to stay focused on the time and make my final bout last. He almost got me near the end, but I was able to counter him,” said Batbayar. “What I’m most proud of is all the work I did before the tournament. All my efforts in training enabled me to win.”

Jean-David Bouchard nabbed the gold medal in the over-90 kg category with a final record of three wins and one loss.

The Elite National Championships are being live streamed on judocanada.tv. All results are available at judocanada.live.

The senior judokas will be in action on Sunday to conclude the event.

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada

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Patrick Esparbès
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Judo Canada
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