Prior to the Zagreb Grand Prix, Coralie Godbout had never found the winning path at a Grand Prix in her career. The 23-year-old corrected that on Sunday, winning the first Grand Prix medal of her career by placing third in the -78kg category in the Croatian capital.
Facing the French Liz Ngelebeya during her last fight of the day, Godbout was the most active during the first moments of the confrontation.
With just over a minute left in regulation time, Ngelebeya was given a major penalty when she made a throw where her head was the first point of contact with the ground. The victory therefore automatically went to Coralie Godbout.
“Coralie managed the first minutes of the fight well. She was the one controlling the pace. She tried an attack where she was countered and the Frenchwoman’s head hit the ground first, which led to her disqualification. It’s a rule that has been applied to the letter in recent years, there was no doubt about that one,” mentioned Canadian coach Antoine Valois-Fortier.
“Coralie’s head hit the ground too, more from fear than harm fortunately. She saw the doctor immediately after the fight and everything seemed fine. She might have some stiffness in her neck tomorrow, but she’ll be fine,” added Valois-Fortier.
The Quebecer fought well in her semi-final match against the Dutchwoman Sanne Van Dijke. However, the eventual gold medalist had the upper hand by throwing Godbout to the ground twice.
Earlier, the Stoneham athlete had started her day strong with a quick victory against Israeli Ronny Gal, whom she beat in just 27 seconds. The Quebecer did it again in the next round, securing her place in the semi-finals by beating Frenchwoman Lyse Vermisse by ippon.
The Quebecer’s first participation in a Grand Prix took place in Montreal in 2019, when she fought in the over 78 kg category. She also took part in the one in Upper Austria in May 2023.
Also in action on Sunday in Zagreb, Mohab ElNahas was shown the exit door in his first encounter of the day when he bowed out to Dutchman Mark Van Dijk. The Canadian veteran was the victim of two waza-aris, which ended his day’s work.
Van Dijk continued his journey to a bronze medal duel which he won against Georgian Giorgi Jabniashvili.
The Canadians who were in the game in Zagreb will return to action in two weeks at the European Open in Prague, Czech Republic.