Montréal, September 28, 2024 – Isabelle Harris (-63 kg) finished her day on the podium on Saturday at the European Open in Prague, Czech Republic. The British Columbian secured a bronze medal when she scored an ippon against Italy’s Antonietta Palumbo in a marathon match that went more than six minutes into overtime.

Photo: EJU
Isabelle Harris, on the right.

Her teammate Yanis Hachemi (-73 kg, Québec) very nearly attained the same result in his bronze medal bout, but ended up bowing out to Niels Thijssen of the Netherlands in his sixth and final fight of a very long day. He lost by ippon in overtime.

“Both of those bronze medal finals were very tight, but Isabelle’s was the tightest of the two,” said Canadian coach Antoine Bouchard.

During the final, Harris and Palumbo received two penalties each, and a third on either side would have put an end to the match.

“Both of them had good opportunities to throw the other. Isabelle managed to counter one of [her opponent]’s attacks, and she scored a major ippon. There was a lot at stake in that fight,” added the coach.

Harris began her day by ousting a Dutch opponent, but was subsequently defeated by Britain’s Josie Steele, who later joined her on the third step of the podium. In the repechage, Harris edged out Germany’s Charlotte Von Leupoldt before facing the Italian.

Following today’s result, Bouchard believes Harris should feel optimistic about the future.

“She’s had some great results over the past year, particularly at the Pan-American Games. And it’s important to note that she had to sit out with an injury for almost two months this past summer, and she only starting training again barely a month ago. The fact that she’s able to perform at this level at this point is a great sign, and I believe she’ll continue to build upon it. She’s proven that she’s ready to take the next step.”

Yanis Hachemi’s long day

In the under-73 kg division, Yanis Hachemi undertook a long journey to fifth place in the Czech capital. He began with three consecutive wins before bowing out to Serhii Nebotov of Ukraine, but his victory in the repechage over Naim Matt of Switzerland allowed him to advance to one of the bronze medal finals.

“He fought well, and he had a few opportunities to score, but he had trouble adapting to his opponent’s fighting style. [. . .] Fifth place is always hard to take because you don’t win a medal, but this was without a doubt the best international performance of [Yanis’s] career,” affirmed his coach, adding that fighting six bouts in a day was a unique experience for the Québécois.

“In international tournaments, you don’t often compete in six matches. Fighting them all back-to-back was a significant experience for him, and one I believe will serve him well.”

In the under-78 kg weight class, Coralie Godbout also advanced to the repechage, where she was defeated by Germany’s Julie Hoelterhoff. The Québécoise finished the day in seventh place.

The other Canadians in action on Saturday were Tyler Collin (-60 kg, New Brunswick), Julien Frascadore (-66 kg, Quebec), and Justin Lemire (-73 kg, Quebec), who were all eliminated in their first bouts and therefore did not rank.

The tournament will conclude on Sunday. David Popovici, Keagan Young, Guillaume Gaulin, and Mohab ElNahas will represent Canada on the tatamis.

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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