Tougher Day than Expected at European Cup

Montréal, September 23, 2024 – Several Canadians stood out at the Pan-American Kata Championships in Bogotá, Colombia, this past weekend, claiming a total of six medals, including two gold.

“It was a great tournament! We’re very pleased. For several of the participants, it was their first international tournament, and we saw some great results,” said Gérald Poirier, head of Judo Canada’s kata committee.

Canada’s medal winners included the duos made up of Daniel Bird and Masoud Naeimi and of Shane Rooney and Bailey Hu, who won gold in their respective events.

“Canada is getting stronger in kata, which is great. We’re happy about that. But whenever we win a lot of medals, we’re still always surprised, because we never take anything for granted,” added Poirier.

In the highly competitive senior Kodokan Goshin Jutsu final, Bird and Naeimi came out on top with 164.7 points, just ahead of their Ontarian teammates Allyn Takahashi and Tony Walby, who took silver with 164.2.

Leonardo Londono and Daniel Agudelo of Colombia completed the podium with 156.7 points.

In Kime No Kata, Ontarians Rooney and Hu secured gold with 168.8 points, edging out Colombians Junior Jefrey Hernandez and Cristian Ortiz, who won silver with 166.5. Lisa Capriotti and Robert Gouthro of the USA clinched bronze with 164.2 points, just ahead of Canadian duos Shane Legros and Dan Rusu (163.5) and Mario Pageau and Martin Vallières (162.8), who finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

In U23 Nage No Kata, Quebec’s Zachary Mainville and Thomas Warolin gave their all in the final to claim silver with 116.0 points.

“We’re very proud of them. Their preparation has improved dramatically, and they’ve been working very hard, so we’re looking forward to seeing great things from them in the future.”

Juan Diego Londoño and Juan Diego Caicedo of Colombia secured gold with 116.5 points, while their countrymates Maria Camila Restrepo and Julieth Cortes took bronze with 113.5.

In senior Nage No Kata, Rooney and Hu, who won bronze in the same event at the 2022 World Championships, repeated the feat once again, completing the podium with 120.3 points. Brazil’s Roger Tsuyoshi Uchida and Paulo Ferreira clinched gold with 129.0 points, ahead of Edwin Gomez and Gerardo Andres Restrepo of Colombia (123.5 points).

In Ju No Kata, Quebec’s Simon Gauthier-Hansen and Juliette Mireault advanced to the final, where they clinched bronze with 127.2 points, edging out their teammates Legros and Rusu, who finished fourth with 124.7 points. Brazilian duos Roberto Carlos Pereira and Nadia Hori (132.8 points) and Roger Tsuyoshi Uchida and Roberto Ferreira (129.8 points) won gold and silver, respectively.

Photos : Simon Gauthier-Hansen

A difficult day in Podgorica

Canadian judokas Mohab ElNahas and Daniel McCristall had hoped for a better outcome at the European Cup in Podgorica, Montenegro, this past weekend.

Although he was the only Canadian to win a match, veteran Ontarian ElNahas (-90 kg) had a tough day on Sunday, both physically and mentally.

“Right from the beginning of the day, I wasn’t feeling all that great. I don’t know why. Some days are just like that. My cardio wasn’t very good,” admitted the 28-year-old judoka, who also served as Canadian spokesperson at the event.

Having begun the day with a bye, ElNahas fulfilled his own expectations by winning his first bout against Leonidas Hytonen of Switzerland. “I won my first round easily. He was a physical guy, but I came up with the right strategy. I threw him for a waza-ari and was able to hold on to it for the win,” he explained.

In the third round, ElNahas bowed out to Serbia’s Vojin Mandic by ippon. Mandic later won the silver medal.

“Physically, I was stronger than him, and I dominated the first couple of minutes of the match. When he came in with the belt at close range, he countered me, but I fell on top of him first. I thought the point was mine, but it went to him, which was disappointing. It kind of got to me mentally,” said ElNahas at the end of the day.

ElNahas advanced to the repechage, where he was defeated by Bozidar Vucurevic of Bosnia, who later won a bronze medal.

“The two people I lost to ended up on the podium, which made me feel better, knowing I hadn’t lost to judokas who were weaker than me. I learned a lot. I made a few mistakes, and it just wasn’t my day, but I hope to get back on track next week in Prague,” concluded the Canadian.

On Saturday, in the under-66 kg category, 22-year-old McCristall received a bye before losing his only bout of the day by ippon to Petar Radovic of Montenegro.

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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