Montréal, July 28, 2024 – Heidi Quach, Evelyn Beaton, and John Jr Messé A Bessong were Canada’s big stars at the Junior European Cup in Berlin, Germany, this weekend.

On Sunday, Quach obtained Canada’s best result, winning the silver medal in the under-48 kg category. She lost her only fight of the day to Great Britain’s Summer Shaw, who won the big final by waza-ari.

“In the semi-final, [Heidi] was down by a waza-ari, but she scored an ippon in the final minute to win it. Unfortunately, she lost the final,” said her coach, Antoine Bouchard.

After receiving a first-round bye in Group A, the Canadian defeated Barbara Starzmann and Victoria Sibille of Germany, as well as Konul Aliyeva of Azerbaijan.

Photo : Judo Canada

Heidi Quach, John Jr Messe A Bessong et Evelyn Beaton

In the under-52 kg category, Quach’s teammate Evelyn Beaton also made her mark, winning one of the two bronze medals.

Nineteen-year-old Beaton received a bye in the first round. She later won two matches and advanced to the repechage.

“In the semi-final, she seemed very comfortable on her feet, where she dominated slightly. But when things moved onto the floor, she had a bit more trouble, and she made an error that cost her the match,” explained Bouchard.

Beaton was ultimately defeated in the big final by Germany’s Tabea Nika Mecklenburg, who took top honours in the category.

In the men’s over-100 kg division, Messé A Bessong won a bronze medal. After beginning the day with a bye, he won his first two bouts in the A pool, before losing to Turkey’s Recep Ergin in the semi-final.

In the under-57 kg weight class, Catherine Toshkov also had a busy day. She made her way to the repechage, where she finished in fifth place, with a record of four wins and two losses.

“[Catherine] advanced to the repechage with three bouts in less than 30 minutes. Although the day didn’t end as she would have liked, with a medal, she nevertheless performed very well.”

On Saturday, Daniil Kremerman also performed well in the under-60 kg division, finishing fifth in his category. The 19-year-old secured two brilliant victories in his first bouts on Saturday, before losing to Kazakhstan’s Talgat Orynbassar, who later won the category’s gold medal.

“Following his loss, he managed to bounce back with three wins in a row, so he should be proud of his performance today, even though he didn’t win a medal.”

Kremerman gave his all in the repechage, but lost the bronze medal final to Kazakhstan’s Aldiyar Kargulov.

Canadians Carla Van Zyl (-57 kg), Laurence Gagnon (-57 kg), Marie-Lune Turmel (-48 kg), Nick Luchkin (-100 kg), Lowan Le Bris (-66 kg), Félix Mercier-Ross (-73 kg), and Raphael Gaanan (-60 kg) were also in action this weekend, but did not rank.

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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