Canada will bet on six judokas at the Tokyo Olympics, which kicks off on July 23.
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The reigning 57 kg world champion, Ontarian Jessica Klimbait will headline the Canadian team. She will experience her first Olympic Games after winning world gold in June in Budapest.
Bronze medalist at the London Olympics in 2012 in the 81 kg category, Antoine Valois-Fortier will participate in his third Games, he who finished seventh in Rio in 2016. Valois-Fortier’s medal was Canada’s first since 2000 in Sydney , when Nicolas Gill was on the second step of the podium.
Even if he was excluded from the top-8 which gave direct access to the Games, the 31-year-old judoka did not have to stuff himself with a play-off, since Étienne Briand was unable to climb in the top-18 of the world ranking. “This will be my third Olympic Games and I feel as excited to represent Canada as I did at my first opportunity,” Antoine Valois-Fortier said in a press release. I can’t wait to be in action for Canada. Over the past few years, I have been through many hardships and got back up. The pursuit of a second medal is one of my goals, however it is with more calm and maturity that I will approach the Tokyo 2020 Games. ”
Quebecers Ecaterina Guica (52 kg), Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard (63 kg) and Arthur Margelidon (73 kg) as well as Ontarian Shady Elnabas (100 kg) will complete the Canadian roster. Guica and Beauchemin-Pinard will be making their second appearance. As for Margelidon, he had qualified for Rio, but an injury to an arm, two weeks before the departure for Brazil, had prevented him from living his Olympic baptism. Valois-Fortier and Beauchemin-Pinard skipped the world championship to focus on their Olympic preparation, while a false positive prompted Margelidon to stay in the country and continue her training.
With the exception of Valois-Fortier, who occupies the ninth rung, and Guica, who won the continental selection, the other four Canadians are in the top-8. Pandemic requires, the Olympic selection stretched from May 25, 2018 to June 13, 2021, at the end of the world championship in Hungary. The judokas will be in action from July 24 to 31.
Nicolas Gill is thrilled by the training that has been put together. “This team is possibly the best we have ever had,” Judo Canada’s General Manager and High Performance Director said in a statement. Many challenges and exceptional circumstances have led this group to surpass themselves. They were able to stay the course, despite roller coaster conditions, but also morale. Some of the work is done. Now all we have to do is concentrate on a single objective, without looking behind. ”
