Coralie Godbout had an excellent day on Monday, earning a bronze medal in the Under 78kg category on the final day of the Grand Prix in Lima, Peru. This is Team Canada’s third medal in Lima, following Jessica Klimkait’s gold medal on Sunday, and Julien Frascadore’s silver medal on Saturday.

In the bronze medal match, Godbout defeated Brazil’s Karol Gimenes to secure her place on the third step of the podium. After scoring a waza-ari early on in the bout, the Quebecoise continued to demonstrate her abilities, and was able to keep control for the remaining 30 seconds left in regulation time.

“It was a nearly perfect bout. She scored quickly and completely dominated her opponent afterwards. She protected her lead well without putting herself in danger. She did a great job! She was always in charge and trying to score more points, which was great,” said Canadian coach Antoine Bouchard.

After defeating Nicole Wood (Britain) in her first match of the day, Godbout put up a tough fight against Slovenia’s Metka Lobnik in the following round. However, Lobnik won with a waza-ari – on her way to the top step of the podium and gold medal.

The 24-year-old Canadian judoka was however, able to take advantage of Lithuanian Migle Julija Dudenaite’s surprise withdrawal from the repechage, and thus advanced directly to the bronze medal match.

“Her first fight wasn’t too tricky – she performed well in every element of it. Unfortunately, it seemed like Godbout was letting the Slovenian set the pace; and the latter is a huge name in their category. Despite the loss, the experience of fighting against an opponent of that calibre is ultimately positive in terms of her future,” added Bouchard.

On the men’s tatami, Guillaume Gaulin (-90 kg) made quick work of his opponent in his first match of the day, winning in less than a minute against Juan Manuel Gorriz Violante (Uruguay). However, he was sadly halted in the next round by Adam Kopecky (Czech Republic).

“Guillaume started his day well with a quick victory, but he wasn’t able to avoid a few costly situations in the next fight, and that’s what led to his opponent’s victory,” noted the Canadian coach.

Still hungry for judo excellence? Action on the tatami continues tomorrow, Tuesday, in Peru, where Gaulin, Godbout, and several of their teammates, will compete in the Pan American Open in Lima.