François Gauthier-Drapeau (-81 kg) finished fifth at the Grand Slam in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on Saturday. Meanwhile, at the same event, Justin Lemire (-73 kg) secured the first victory of his career in a competition of this calibre.

Gauthier-Drapeau, who is ranked fourth in the world in his weight class, bowed out to number one-ranked Timur Arbuzov of Russia in the bronze medal final. Arbuzov secured the win by scoring two yukos halfway through regulation time.

“[François] had a tough match-up for the bronze medal, but still, he put up a good fight,” said Canadian coach Antoine Valois-Fortier.

Earlier, the Québécois had defeated his first three opponents of the day in fiercely contested battles. In his tough opening match against local favourite Shinebayar Oyunchimeg, Gauthier-Drapeau dug deep to score a waza-ari in overtime. Next, he disposed of South Korea’s Jaeyun Sim thanks to a yuko scored midway through the match. In the quarter-finals, the 28-year-old athlete was up against Eetu Ihanamaki of Finland. The match was decided after two minutes of overtime, with Gauthier-Drapeau ultimately winning by waza-ari.

However, his run to the podium was halted in the semi-finals by Japan’s Yuhei Oino, who is ranked second in the world. A short lapse of attention on the part of Gauthier-Drapeau allowed Oino to score an ippon after only fifteen seconds of combat.

“I could tell that François was a bit disappointed, especially with his semi-final match. I think he was hoping for a spot on the podium, and he knew he was a contender,” said his coach.

In the under-73 kg category, Justin Lemire disposed of his first opponent of the day, Israel’s Yehonatan Elbaz, with an early ippon. In the second Grand Slam appearance of his career, the 25-year-old Québécois savoured his first-ever victory at this level.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” said a delighted Valois-Fortier.

However, Lemire’s run came to an end in the next round, where he took on a formidable opponent, Georgia’s Lasha Shavdatuashvili, who prevailed by ippon in overtime.

“[Justin] held on for a long time. It was a close, tight, and very tactical match. His opponent had a lot of experience, so for Justin, it was a valuable part of the learning process,” explained his coach.

This weekend’s Grand Slam in Ulaanbaatar marked the official start of the qualification process for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. As explained by Valois-Fortier, the process spans two years and requires athletes to accumulate as many points as possible in world circuit competitions. The top seventeen athletes in each weight category qualify directly.

Canadian judokas Coralie Godbout (-78 kg) and John Messe A Besson (+100 kg) will be in action on Sunday as the Grand Slam comes to a close.

Beyond expectations at the Pan-American Open

The Canadian team put on a great show on Saturday at the Pan-American Open in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The five-member delegation captured a medal of each colour.

In the under-63 kg division, Laurence Biron secured the gold medal in her close final match against seasoned Venezuelan Anriquelis Barrios. Barrios, who finished fifth at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and has won several Grand Slam medals, was the favourite on paper, acknowledged Canadian coach Janusz Pawlowski. However, Quebec’s Biron prevailed thanks to a solid performance, in which she scored a yuko in the opening seconds of overtime.

“[Laurence] fought very well. She dominated with her grips and never fell behind in attacks,” remarked Pawlowski.

Earlier in the day, Biron defeated Argentina’s Agustina De Lucia in her first match, before facing her compatriot Catherine Toshkov (-63 kg) in the semi-finals. Toshkov conceded defeat after accumulating several shidos.

However, Toshkov bounced back in the bronze medal final, beating Argentina’s Iara Figueroa by ippon with less than a minute remaining in the bout.

The Canadian judoka thus ended her day with a record of two wins and one loss.

On the men’s side, Frédéric De Cardaillac (-73 kg) took silver after bowing out to Argentina’s Tomas Sosa in the big final. Sosa scored a yuko midway through the match, then held on to his lead until time ran out, thus securing the gold medal.

Nevertheless, the Canadian coach expressed satisfaction with De Cardaillac’s performance. “Overall, he demonstrated several qualities that make him a very good athlete. As a coach, I was glad to see that he kept fighting until the end, and that he sincerely wanted to win. The fact that he beat some high-level opponents will be good for his self-confidence,” he noted.

On his way to the gold medal match, De Cardaillac defeated three opponents, finishing the day with a record of three wins and one loss.

His second match of the day—against Emiliano Saucedo GoldSchmied of the USA in the quarter-finals—was particularly challenging, but he ultimately prevailed by yuko after eight minutes of combat.

Canadians Tylor Collin (-60 kg) and Luke Thomson (-66 kg), who also competed on Saturday, were defeated in their first matches of the day.

Six additional Canadian judokas will hit the tatamis on Sunday to wrap up the tournament.