Montréal, May 16, 2025 – Last year’s champions Myroslava Bondarenko (-57 kg) and Lowan Le Bris (-73 kg) successfully defended their U18 titles on Friday at the Canadian Open Judo Championships in Calgary, Alberta.
In the under-57 kg category, Bondarenko defeated fellow Québécoise Nicole Manaila in the big final to claim the category title, an accomplishment of which she was very proud.
“I’m really happy. That was my main goal, and I achieved it. I’m extremely proud of myself. The final was very stressful. I was feeling a lot of pressure because I really wanted to win,” she explained.
“I’m also very proud of having won the title for the second time. It’s pretty special, and it’s made me feel confident about my future [judo] career,” added Bondarenko, who will compete in the senior category on Sunday in Calgary.
Earlier in the day, the Québécoise had defeated Lauren Ardis and Emma Ommert in back-to-back bouts to advance to the final.
The day’s other female gold medallists were Brooklyn Seeman (-40 kg), Marianna Schesnuik (-44 kg), Addyson Tamura (-48 kg), Melody Grenier (-52 kg), Maia Thomson (-63 kg), Charlie Thibault (-70 kg), and Emiliya Aliyeva (+70 kg).
On the boys’ side, Lowan Le Bris picked up where he left off last year, when he won the under-66 kg gold medal. This year, the British Columbian competed in the under-73 kg category, where he ousted New Brunswick’s Maxime Bourgoin in a hotly contested gold medal final.
“I’m extremely proud of my win. This was the first time I ever fought against Maxime, even though we’ve met at training sessions. I was determined to win. It was inconceivable to me to not leave with the gold medal,” said Le Bris.
On his way to the final, Le Bris defeated Mathis Schafer, Olivier Dumont, Diego Tanaka Sverzut, and Dax Norman.
“I focused really hard on my precision all day. I didn’t want to make any errors, and I think my strategy worked well in each of my bouts. I believe my preparation made all the difference.”
Gabrieli Makhatadze (-50 kg), Xavier Brouillette (-55 kg), Amir Temirbaev (-60 kg), Anes Mati (-66 kg), Tristan Bourque (-81 kg), Matthew Molchanov (-90 kg), and Arthur Stivenson (+90 kg) also climbed to the top of the podium on Friday.
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For the competition results, click here.
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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada
For more information:
Patrick Esparbès
Chief Operating Officer
Judo Canada
(514) 668-6279
p.esparbes@judocanada.org