n the heels on the cadet and junior tournaments, the Montréal Pan-American Open senior event opened on Saturday on the Centre Pierre-Charbonneau. The Canadian delegation quickly made its presence felt on house turf, with 14 of its athletes on the rostrum by the tip of the day, together with three who had been embellished in gold.
A finger damage didn’t forestall Heidi Quach from claiming the highest spot within the under-48 kg class, simply as she did eventually 12 months’s Pan-American Open in Montréal. This time, the Québécoise defeated Malia Manibog of the USA by waza-ari within the huge closing.
“It went very well! I had a little bit of bother with my grips due to my damage, however as soon as I succeeded in holding my opponent down on the bottom for a waza-ari, I used to be in a position to decelerate and management the remainder of the bout,” defined Quach, who earlier had edged out Kaycie Tanimoto, additionally of the USA, within the semi-final, when Tanimoto acquired a 3rd penalty.
“I injured myself two weeks in the past, and I needed to miss the Quebec Open so as to prioritize the Pan-American Open. I’ve bother closing my hand, and I needed to be cautious all day at present, however I however felt assured. I knew I’d have the ability to execute my strategies, observe my coach’s recommendation, and carry out effectively,” added the gold medallist.
Quach was accompanied on the rostrum by her teammate Angelina McCristall, who received a bronze medal in the identical class. In her closing struggle of the day, McCristall, of Ontario, edged out Elizabeth Sanikidze of Alberta to seize the primary medal of her profession at this stage.
Within the under-52 kg weight division, all 4 medals had been received by Canadians. Evelyn Beaton of Alberta defeated Valeria Kostrovets within the huge closing to assert the highest spot on the rostrum, whereas Sarra Bourihane and Dasha Tkachenko ended the event with bronze medals.
British Columbia’s Carla Van Zyl, who received gold within the junior event two days in the past, was again on the rostrum on Saturday, this time sporting bronze within the under-57 kg class after defeating Hayden Thibeault of New Brunswick in her closing bout of the day.
Within the under-63 kg competitors, Manitoba’s Sarah Ekosky, who received her first two fights of the day, superior to the gold medal closing, the place she bowed out to Karlee Carrouth of the USA and secured silver.
Six extra medals for the lads
The Canadian crew noticed nice success on the lads’s facet as effectively, as demonstrated within the under-66 kg closing, which pitted compatriots Luka Tsatsalashvili and Daniil Kremerman in opposition to one another. Tsatsalashvili had the final phrase within the hotly contested match.
“The ultimate was actually laborious! Kremerman is a very robust athlete who has expertise competing on the worldwide stage. It was laborious to struggle a judoka whose type is much like mine,” mentioned the winner. “We each had ups and downs in the course of the struggle. I damage my shoulder early on, however I pushed by and received the bout.”
Due to his 5 wins at present, Luka Tsatsalashvili earned his first-ever medal at a senior Pan-American Open. He’s significantly happy with having defeated Ari Berliner of the USA, who, over the course of his profession, has competed in 15 Grand Slams, in addition to three Senior World Championships.
“I’m one of many youngest folks on this division, and my struggle in opposition to Berliner was actually tough, however I used to be in a position to counter him, rating a waza-ari, and win the match,” mentioned the 18-year-old judoka, proudly.
Justin Lemire superior to the under-73 kg closing on Saturday, the place he misplaced to Eire’s Joshua Inexperienced and completed on the second step of the rostrum, as he did on the Pan-American Open in Santiago final Might.
Lemire received all three of his bouts main as much as the ultimate. He ended the occasion in Montréal with a silver medal for the second 12 months in a row.
Félix Mercier-Ross received bronze in the identical class after defeating Yanis Hachemi. The opposite bronze medal was awarded to Fahd Fithane, who bought the higher of Damien Ekosky.
Ontario’s Aidos Sapenov collected a bronze medal after beating Felipe Dacruz of Lebanon within the under-60 kg class. After being relegated to the repechage, he got here out of the event with a document of three wins and one loss.
The motion will proceed on Sunday on the Centre Pierre-Charbonneau.
For the whole outcomes, click on right here.
