Carla Van Zyl had a lot to celebrate late Thursday at the Junior Pan-American Cup in Montréal. For one, the British Columbian had defeated several opponents who had gotten the better of her in the past. But even more importantly, she had stepped onto the top of the podium for the very first time as a junior.

In the under-57 kg final, Van Zyl was pitted against Madeleine Birri of Great Britain. The Canadian quickly took control of the fight, scoring a waza-ari 90 seconds into the match. She then sealed her opponent’s fate a minute later by once again throwing her to the ground.

“I’m always going for gold. I always aim as high as possible. I knew [Birri] was strong physically. She beat me last year, so I was looking forward to fighting her again, so she could see how much I had improved. I did what I came here to do, and it worked,” gushed the gold medallist.

As Van Zyl exited the tatamis, several fans were cheering for her and celebrating her win. The athlete from Prince George therefore seized the opportunity to mingle with the crowd.

“I’m so proud of this gold medal. I’m just starting out as a junior, and I want to compete at the World Juniors, so this is a step in the right direction. Hearing the crowd cheer for you is the best feeling in the world. It’s incredible,” she added.

Early in the day, the 17-year-old judoka defeated Aleksandra Dudko of Great Britain and Danielle Pelker of the USA. She then edged out Mexico’s Frida Maya in the semi-finals to claim her spot in the ultimate showdown.

“I wanted to take it one bout at a time, and my objective was simply to give it my all. Frida has beaten me twice recently, so I absolutely wanted to win this time. It was a very important win for me.” 

The gold medallist will be aiming for another podium finish this weekend when she competes in the cadet division on Friday.

In the same weight class as Van Zyl, Myroslava Bondarenko defeated Frida Maya in one of the bronze medal finals, claiming her spot on the third step of the podium.

Addyson Tamura (-48 kg), Sara-Anne Beaudin (-63 kg), and Charlie Thibault (-70 kg) also won gold medals on Thursday.

Maralgoo Batabayar (-63 kg) and Emily Harris (-78 kg) won silver medals, while Maria-Magdalaina Delye (-48 kg), Melody Grenier (-52 kg), Loika Robertson (-63 kg), Missy Jen Dorval Mbele (-70 kg), and Abigail Smith (-78 kg) secured bronze.

Yehor Paladii back on the podium in Montréal

At the Montréal Pan-American Cup in November 2023, Yehor Paladii won two gold medals, claiming the crowns in both the cadet and junior categories. This year, Paladii, now competing exclusively as a junior, once again found himself at the top of the podium after winning all his matches today.

The 18-year-old, competing in the under-100 kg weight category for the first time in his career, ended the day with an overtime victory against Daniel Liubimovski of the USA.

“I had to change weight categories before the tournament because I was having trouble with the 90-kg weight cuts. In the final, my intention was to take control of his right arm and keep working in that direction, and that worked out well. It’s always great to do well in international competitions. It’s very good for your morale,” said the Ontarian.

Paladii secured his berth in the final with victories over fellow Canadians Mohamed Amine Silem and Ivan Tyshchenko. In the semi-final, he only needed 36 seconds to clinch the match.

“My first two fights were a bit easier. However, I still wanted to do things right so that I would be well-prepared for the final,” explained Paladii.

Silem and Tyshchenko both won bronze medals in the under-100 kg category.

John Messé A Bessong (+100 kg) was the other Canadian male to win a gold medal on Thursday. Daniil Kremerman (-60 kg) and Yuriy Semenyuk (-81 kg) won silver medals, while Fahd Fithane (-73 kg), Arthur Karpukov (-81 kg), and Lucas MacDonald (-90 kg) claimed bronze.

The Montréal Pan-American Cup will continue on Friday at the Centre Pierre-Charbonneau with the cadet competitions. The senior tournaments will take place on Saturday and Sunday.