Montréal, April 18, 2025 – The Canadian cadet delegation definitely made its presence felt on day one of the Cadet and Junior Pan-American Championships in Lima, Peru, capturing fifteen medals on Friday, including three gold.
Connor Gallant (-66 kg), Tristan Bourque (-81 kg), and Maia Thomson (-63 kg) climbed to the top of the podium in their respective categories, thanks to their perfect competition records.
Thomson led the charge, defeating Brazil’s Anna Julia Sperling by penalty in overtime in the women’s under-63 kg final.
Earlier, the Albertan had ousted Kaiya Johnston of the USA and Katherine Galarza of Ecuador to claim her spot in the final.
“Maia’s first bout was probably her toughest, and she may have been feeling some stress, but her win set the tone for the rest of the day, and she never let up! Her confidence was high, and in the final, she managed to gain the upper hand over the Brazilian, who is an excellent athlete. Maia was definitely a contender for a medal today. She’s already gained some international competition experience in the past, and it showed,” said Canadian coach Alexandre Émond.
In the same weight division, Victoria Summers won a bronze medal by defeating Katherine Galarza in her final bout of the day.
Every single Canadian female who competed in Lima on Friday ended the day with a medal. Melody Grenier (-52 kg), Myroslava Bondarenko (-57 kg), and Charlie Thibault (-70 kg) clinched silver in their respective categories, while Addyson Tamura(-48 kg), Maegan Grouten (-52 kg), Missy Jen Dorval Mbele (-70 kg), and Emily Harris (+70 kg) secured bronze.
Among the males, Connor Gallant was the first to stand atop of the podium, after dispatching of Theodore Lehmen of the USA in the under-66 kg final. The Albertan had defeated Peru’s Jonas Guanipa and Argentina’s Thiago Carvallo earlier in the day.
“Connor did very well. He was feeling really good this morning, and in his second match, he managed to come back from behind by putting a lot of pressure on his opponent. He also managed his final bout very well. It was a great day. His performance was exemplary,” said Émond.
Tristan Bourque was quick to emulate his teammate. After defeating Alberto Zambra of Chile and Shota Kundukashvili of the USA, the Québécois edged out Australia’s Akos Kelly in overtime in the final.
“Tristan dominated the final, but his opponent did a good job of dodging him. When the match went into overtime, Tristan took advantage of his opponent’s fatigue to modify his strategy a bit, using infighting techniques to secure the win,” explained the Canadian coach.
Canadians Oleksandr Smakula and Franck David Moussima Ewane Elouti also advanced to the big finals in their respective categories on Friday. Smakula bowed out to Brazil’s Gabriel Cruz in the under-50 kg division, while Moussima Ewane Elouti (+90 kg) lost by yuko to Kanta Ueyama of the USA at the end of regulation time. Both will go home with silver medals.
Lowan Le Bris (-73 kg) and Matthew Molchanov (-90 kg) rounded out Canada’s medal haul with two bronze medals.
Also on Friday, Akhmed Loliev (-50 kg), Xavier Brouillette (-55 kg), and Amir Temirbaev (-60 kg) were defeated in their bronze medal matches. Roman Semyrozum(-55 kg) finished seventh.
The competition will continue on Saturday in Lima, where the junior athletes will compete for Pan-American titles.
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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada
For more information:
Patrick Esparbès
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p.esparbes@judocanada.org