Carla Van Zyl had rather a lot to have fun late Thursday on the Junior Pan-American Cup in Montréal. For one, the British Columbian had defeated a number of opponents who had gotten the higher of her up to now. However much more importantly, she had stepped onto the highest of the rostrum for the very first time as a junior.
Within the under-57 kg remaining, Van Zyl was pitted in opposition to Madeleine Birri of Nice Britain. The Canadian shortly took management of the combat, scoring a waza-ari 90 seconds into the match. She then sealed her opponent’s destiny a minute later by as soon as once more throwing her to the bottom.
“I’m at all times going for gold. I at all times intention as excessive as doable. I knew [Birri] was sturdy bodily. She beat me final 12 months, so I used to be trying ahead to preventing her once more, so she might see how a lot I had improved. I did what I got here right here to do, and it labored,” gushed the gold medallist.
As Van Zyl exited the tatamis, a number of followers have been cheering for her and celebrating her win. The athlete from Prince George due to this fact seized the chance to mingle with the gang.
“I’m so happy with this gold medal. I’m simply beginning out as a junior, and I need to compete on the World Juniors, so this can be a step in the correct course. Listening to the gang cheer for you is the very best feeling on this planet. It’s unbelievable,” she added.
Early within the day, the 17-year-old judoka defeated Aleksandra Dudko of Nice Britain and Danielle Pelker of the USA. She then edged out Mexico’s Frida Maya within the semi-finals to say her spot within the final showdown.
“I needed to take it one bout at a time, and my goal was merely to present it my all. Frida has overwhelmed me twice lately, so I completely needed to win this time. It was an important win for me.”
The gold medallist will likely be aiming for an additional podium end this weekend when she competes within the cadet division on Friday.
In the identical weight class as Van Zyl, Myroslava Bondarenko defeated Frida Maya in one of many bronze medal finals, claiming her spot on the third step of the rostrum.
Addyson Tamura (-48 kg), Sara-Anne Beaudin (-63 kg), and Charlie Thibault (-70 kg) additionally gained gold medals on Thursday.
Maralgoo Batabayar (-63 kg) and Emily Harris (-78 kg) gained silver medals, whereas 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 again on the podium in Montréal
On the Montréal Pan-American Cup in November 2023, Yehor Paladii gained two gold medals, claiming the crowns in each the cadet and junior classes. This 12 months, Paladii, now competing solely as a junior, as soon as once more discovered himself on the high of the rostrum after successful all his matches right now.
The 18-year-old, competing within the under-100 kg weight class for the primary time in his profession, ended the day with an additional time victory in opposition to Daniel Liubimovski of the USA.
“I needed to change weight classes earlier than the match as a result of I used to be having hassle with the 90-kg weight cuts. Within the remaining, my intention was to take management of his proper arm and preserve working in that course, and that labored out properly. It’s at all times nice to do properly in worldwide competitions. It’s excellent to your morale,” mentioned the Ontarian.
Paladii secured his berth within the remaining with victories over fellow Canadians Mohamed Amine Silem and Ivan Tyshchenko. Within the semi-final, he solely wanted 36 seconds to clinch the match.
“My first two fights have been a bit simpler. Nevertheless, I nonetheless needed to do issues proper in order that I’d be well-prepared for the ultimate,” defined Paladii.
Silem and Tyshchenko each gained bronze medals within the under-100 kg class.
John Messé A Bessong (+100 kg) was the opposite Canadian male to win a gold medal on Thursday. Daniil Kremerman (-60 kg) and Yuriy Semenyuk (-81 kg) gained silver medals, whereas Fahd Fithane (-73 kg), Arthur Karpukov (-81 kg), and Lucas MacDonald (-90 kg) claimed bronze.
The Montréal Pan-American Cup will proceed on Friday on the Centre Pierre-Charbonneau with the cadet competitions. The senior tournaments will happen on Saturday and Sunday.
