The Canadian Open Judo Championships began with kata and Ne-Waza athletes on Thursday and the Quebecers shone at the curtain-raiser. Eleven medals were won in kata and four in Ne-Waza at the Pierre-Charbonneau Sports Center in Montreal.
The representatives of Quebec achieved the double in Ne-Waza in the -81 kg table with the gold medal of Ludwing Ortiz and the silver medal of Christophe St-Godard. Nikita Khibirtov was not to be outdone either, as he won one of the two bronze medals at stake.
At last year’s Nationals, Ortiz was also a gold medalist, in addition to having won the belt of great champions, awarded to the winner in all categories.
“I’m happy with my first place and that was my goal. I have been practicing Ne-Waza for more than 30 years and I work to obtain the best results,” said the 48-year-old judoka who trains at the Metropolitan Club.
The Montrealer also reached the final of the grand champions belt where he lost against Alberta’s Richard Turner, winner of over 81 kg, and defeated Matys Rainville, silver medalist in this same category.
“The final was stronger this year and the one I fought against was of a good level. I was hoping to get the belt again, but I won in my category and I’m happy with that. It gives me pleasure to show my specialty,” added Ortiz.
Among the women, Marie-Garance Degasne finished in fourth place in the under 63 kg category.
Golden duets at kata competitions
Ivan Fournier and Pierre Pelletier, from the Judo-Tech club, are among the big winners of the day. They triumphed in the Kodokan Goshin-Jutsu category on Thursday with a total of 531 points.
“We are very happy! We have been working on our program for several years now and making progress. This year, we crossed 500 points, which is very good! The gold medal is interesting, but above all we are happy to have obtained so many points. We seek to improve above all,” declared Pierre Pelletier.
He adds that his duo’s main objective was to present themselves with the same intensity as in training. An element on which he has worked extensively in recent weeks.
“That’s how we approached the competition. We know the adage “we play as we practice”, well we also use it in judo! Kodokan Goshin-Jutsu is a self-defense kata, where you have to sense an attack and a counterattack. We focused on that after mastering the technique. We wanted to bring a lot of intensity today,” specified Pierre Pelletier.
Still in Kodokan Goshin-Jutsu, but among the under-23s, Cassandra Perreault and Jean-Sébatien Roy were decorated with a gold medal after having accumulated 438 points. They were not the only representatives of the Haut-Richelieu judo club to stand out in the eyes of the judges!
With a score of 186, Ian Polard-Duquette and Étienne Lacasse climbed to the top of the podium in Nage-no-kata (3 series) for the under-16s. They beat Dayan Vincent and Isaac Cholette, silver medalists with 181.5 points. Félix Ménard and Anthony Robert completed the podium in this category with their 175 points.
In the Nage-no-kata (5 series) for the under-23s, it was Isack Berger and Jean-Sébatien Roy who took gold, just ahead of Zachary Mainville and Thomas Warolin, from the Rouyn-Noranda judo club. .
The latter obtained the same result among the seniors in this discipline.
Reigning Canadian champions, Simon Gauthier-Hansen and Juliette Mireault once again won gold in Ju-no-kata. They dominated the category and received a score of 401 points, even though they were limited in training after Mireault’s move.
A performance not only good for gold, but also allowing the Torakai club duo to qualify for the Pan American Championships as well as the World Championships.
Mario Pageau and Martin Vallières were awarded a bronze medal in Kime-no-kata, among the seniors.
Simon Dufour and Philippe Dutremble, from the Saint-Hyacinthe judo club, received silver at the end of the senior Katame-no-kata.
The fighting tournaments will begin on Friday when athletes under 18, as well as veterans, will take to the tatami mats.