Montréal, February 11, 2024 – Coralie Godbout will no doubt fondly remember her trip to the African Open in Tunis, where she triumphed in the under-78 kg weight category on Sunday, the final day of the event. Her brilliant performance proved she is on the right track for the next stage of her international career.

Two preliminary round wins by ippon over Ange Ciella Niragira of Burundi and Louiza Ichallal of Algeria propelled Godbout into the big final, where she faced off against local judoka Arij Akkab.

The 22-year-old Québécoise, who was determined to end the day of top of the podium, wasted no time in showcasing her talents. She ensured she had full control of her grip before pulling Akkab to the ground, where she transitioned to a hold that completely immobilized her opponent.

Godbout held Akkab down for a full 20 seconds, at which point she was declared the winner by ippon. She ended the day with the gold medal around her neck.

“I used all my strength to maintain my hold! From the start, my plan was to get her onto the ground. I wanted to take advantage of the fact that it’s one of my strengths and seems to be one of her weak spots. It went well, and I’m proud of my performance,” said Godbout, moments after descending from the podium.

Today’s medal brings the Canadian judoka’s Senior Open Continental total to seven, including three gold. The achievement reflects her high expectations and demonstrates that the changes she made to her training and preparation regimens over the past year are paying off.

“Before, I put a lot of pressure on myself to accumulate points for the international rankings. Now, I just focus on one fight at a time. I’m proud of the work I did this week. I stayed focused on my goal, and I stuck to my game plan,” she explained.

Godbout now hopes to build upon her latest victory, and she will have the chance to do so next weekend in Algiers, where she will compete in another African Open.

“The competition will be pretty similar, but I won’t take anything for granted. Even if I fight opponents that I beat this weekend, I can’t take things lightly, because each bout is different, regardless of what may have happened in the past,” she concluded.

Canadians halted in first round in Győr

Meanwhile, in Hungary, three Canadian judokas faced early elimination at the European Open in Győr.

In the under-70 kg division, Laurence Biron lost by ippon to Aqulina Chayeb of Lebanon following a lengthy match that went almost two minutes into overtime.

David Popovici and Keagan Young both competed in the under-81 kg category. After receiving first-round byes, the two athletes were defeated by ippon by Nace Herkovic of Slovenia and Jan Svoboda of the Czech Republic, respectively.

In addition to the African Open in Algiers, next weekend will also see judo action at the Baku Grand Slam in Azerbaijan. Kelly Deguchi (-52 kg), Christa Deguchi (-57 kg), Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard (-63 kg), Julien Frascadore (-66 kg), Arthur Margelidon (-73 kg), François Gauthier-Drapeau (-81 kg), Louis Krieber-Gagnon (-90 kg), Kyle Reyes (-100 kg), and Shady ElNahas (-100 kg) will represent Canada at the competition.

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada

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Patrick Esparbès
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