Christa Deguchi, first in the world ranking of the International Judo Federation (IJF) in the under 57 kg category, and Jessica Klimkait, second on the same list, had an appointment in the grand final of the Tel Aviv Grand Slam on Thursday. After more than 8 minutes of combat, it was Klimkait who had the upper hand over her compatriot.
The two athletes were neck and neck for the majority of the fight. Deguchi and Klimkait also had two penalties each at the end of regulation time.
The show came alive a little more during the extension. Jessica Klimkait finally had the last laugh by hitting an ippon on Deguchi to take the gold medal.
“Jessica and Christa know each other by heart, we knew it was going to be an extremely close fight. With two girls so serious and valiant, it was certain that it was going to give an excellent show. It makes our job very easy,” commented coach Antoine Valois-Fortier, who admits to having had a lesser role in the final.
The road to the top step of the podium was not easy for the Tokyo Games bronze medalist. After winning her first two fights fairly quickly, Klimkait was treated to two marathon duels in the quarter and semi-finals.
The Ontarian needed 8 minutes and 20 seconds to defeat Turkey’s Ozlem Yildiz by ippon. Then, in the semi-finals, the Brazilian Rafaela Silva once again gave Klimkait a hard time, winning after 9 minutes and 17 seconds of the fight.
“It was very, very long fights for Jessica before going to the final. Once in the gold medal game, it feels like a new day. They both had a long break before the final and I was eager to see how they would react on the tatami,” added Valois-Fortier.
Christa Deguchi also shone during this tournament, en route to the eighth Grand Slam medal of her career. Antoine Valois-Fortier also said he was extremely satisfied with the strength of character of his protege.
“Christa had a great day. She has won all her fights convincingly, she shows great consistency and it is for this reason that she is part of the sport’s elite. »
Deguchi defeated Shannon Van De Meeberg of the Netherlands, Jessica Pereira of Brazil, Pauline Starke of Germany and Daria Bilodid of Ukraine before losing to Klimkait in the final.
In action in the under 52 kg table, Kelly Deguchi, gold medalist last week at the European Open in Sofia, bowed in her first fight in Tel Aviv. She was beaten by the Belgian Charline Van Snick.
The Israel Grand Slam continues on Friday as Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard (-63 kg), Arthur Margelidon (-73 kg), Antoine Bouchard (-73 kg) and François Gauthier-Drapeau (-81 kg) will be in action.