Montréal, July 12, 2025 – Following a performance that fell short of her expectations last week in Prague, Catherine Toshkov worked hard to ensure she was in top form for the European Cup this weekend in Paks, Hungary. The Québécoise’s efforts paid off, as she clinched a bronze medal in the under-63 kg category on Saturday.
In her final bout, Toshkov swiftly dispatched of Serbia’s Jelena Nisavic, requiring only ten seconds to secure the win.
“I’m so happy! Before the final, I studied [Nisavic’s] style a bit, so my coach and I were able to come up with a game plan to beat her. I was well-prepared for the fight, and in the very first sequence, I was able to execute an Ippon-seoi-nage—my favourite technique—and I won. It happened even more quickly than I expected!” explained Toshkov.
“It feels great to be leaving Paks with a medal. The training camp that took place between the two competitions was helpful. It really prepared me to face high-level opponents,” she added.
The 19-year-old athlete began her day with two consecutive victories over Finland’s Riina Myllyla and Uzbekistan’s Sarvinoz Xusanova. She then lost to Ukraine’s Ilariia Tsurkan, who later won the category’s silver medal, at the end of a marathon match that lasted more than 10 minutes.
“The beginning of the day was tough, but I stayed focused throughout all my bouts, especially the first one, which went into overtime. In my second match, my opponent quickly scored a yuko, but I came back with a waza-ari not long afterward. The final minute felt long, as I tried to hold on to my lead.”
“Tsurkan is left-handed, so in my match against her, I had trouble with some of my techniques. Because of that, I received a penalty. It was a close fight. I’m not disappointed with the way I performed, because I gave it my all. It was a good learning experience, but I quickly wanted to turn my attention to my next bouts,” said Toshkov.
Toshkov did not let the loss get her down. She moved on to the repechage, where she ousted Sara-Tamar Wolsfeld of Germany and Ivette Fuentes of Venezuela to secure her spot in the bronze medal final.
In the same weight division as Toshkov, Loika Robertson and Maia Thomson were limited to one bout each. Charlie Thibault met the same fate in the under-70 kg category.
Among the Canadian men, Lowan Le Bris (-73 kg) obtained the day’s best result, finishing with three wins and two losses, although he did not rank.
The British Columbian defeated Hungary’s Levente Raffay in his first bout of the day, before losing to Neutral Athlete Timur Davidov, who later won bronze.
In the repechage, Le Bris won two matches in a row before bowing out to Uzbekistan’s Muhriddin Marufov, who ended the day with the other bronze medal.
In the same pool, Antoine Berteau edged out Alexander Prado of the USA before being vanquished by Urh Ogrizek of Slovenia in the next round.
In the under-66 kg weight division, Daniil Kremerman and Luke Thomson were both eliminated in their first fights of the day.
The European Cup will continue on Sunday. Canadians Ekaterina Danilkov (-48 kg), Carla Van Zyl (-57 kg), Laurence Gagnon (-57 kg), Artem Neyolov (-81 kg), Yehor Paladii (-100 kg), and John Jr Messé A Bessong will hit the tatamis in Paks.
-30-
Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada
For more information:
Patrick Esparbès
Chief Operating Officer
Judo Canada
(514) 668-6279
p.esparbes@judocanada.org