Montréal, March 23rd, 2025 – Kyle Reyes climbed on the third step of the podium in the under-100 kg category at the Judo Grand Slam in Tbilisi, Georgia, to conclude his first international competition of the year on Sunday.
After collecting one of the two bronze medals at the Tokyo Grand Slam during his last outing on the world stage in December, he won four of his five bouts in the Georgian capital.
His battle for one of the two third place finishes against world no 29Ivan Felipe Silva Morales from Cuba was particularly grueling. Their clash required no less than 3 minutes and 43 seconds of extra time.
While the 31-year-old Canadian had a few good opportunities to get on the scoresheet during the first four minutes of regulation, the Cuban regained his energy at the start of overtime, prompting his opponent to take two penalties. However, Reyes dug deep and pushed his rival to the limit on two occasions, before finally earning a yuko.
“His fight against multiple Pan-American champion Silva Morales was his best. It was a fast, hard-fought battle for the takedown, with a fast pace and many dangerous attacks from both sides. The referee was too harsh in handing out penalties, but Kyle finally landed a counterattack for a yuko,” summarized Assistant National Coach Janusz Pawłowski.
Only setback against the eventual gold medallist
After earning a first-round bye, the 14th-ranked Canadian locked horns with Britain’s Olivier Barrat in the second round and disposed of the 87th-ranked judoka by scoring two waza-ari. “He beat him with a spectacular projection,” Pawłowski added.
The Ontarian then took on Cypriot Georgios Kroussaniotakis, ranked 61st in the world. In a duel that lasted more than 5 minutes, he defeated his opponent on an accumulation of penalties.
In the quarterfinals, Reyes squared off against Ukrainian Anton Savytskiy. The 19th ranked judoka in the world slowed down the Brampton native’s progress, landing a waza-ari on two occasions.
However, the Canadian flipped the script and scored two waza-ari of his own against Sweden’s Karl Baathe in the repechage. “Two perfectly executed attacks ensured his victory,” commented the Assistant National Coach.
Anton Savytskiy, who handed the Canadian’s only loss, reached the final and defeated Dutchman Simeon Catharina. The other bronze medal went to Arman Adamian.
“Kyle made some minor mistakes, allowing his rival to grab the upper hand, and was too static at times, but he displayed a strong technique and offered a spectacular performance,” concluded Pawłowski.
The Judo Grand Slam series will take a break in April and resume in Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan, from May 2 to 4.
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For more information:
Patrick Esparbès
Chief Operating Officer
Judo Canada
(514) 668-6279
p.esparbes@judocanada.org