Montréal, October 18, 2025 – For the second week in a row, Jessica Klimkait stepped onto a Grand Prix podium in the under-63 kg weight category. After winning gold last weekend in Lima, the Ontarian took silver today in Guadalajara, following a hard-fought battle against Japan’s Haruka Kaju.
Despite the daunting task at hand, Klimkait showed no fear as she took on the defending title-holder, who occupies the number two spot in the under-63 kg world rankings. The Canadian set the pace early in the bout with a few attacks, but an error just over two minutes into regulation time proved to be fatal, and she was defeated by ippon.
“Kudos to [Jessica] for reaching the finals two weeks in a row. She appeared relaxed and fully capable of executing her judo. Unfortunately, however, her opponent bested her on the ground. Still, there were still a lot of positives today,” said Antoine Valois-Fortier, national coach and high-performance director at Judo Canada.
Earlier in the day, the silver medallist had soundly dispatched of three top 30-ranked adversaries. She defeated Croatia’s Katarina Kristo (15th) by ippon, before beating Mexico’s Prisca Awiti Alcaraz (27th) by waza-ari.
In the semi-finals, Klimkait’s match against Brazil’s Nauana Silva (10th), whom she had bested for gold in Lima last week, ended with her opponent receiving three shidos, allowing Klimkait to advance to her second Grand Prix final in a row.
“Considering the women she defeated today, there’s no doubt that [Jessica] is firmly established in her new weight class, and that she’s one to watch,” said Valois-Fortier. “Despite her one loss today, it was a good experience for her, and it will benefit her going forward.”
In the men’s under-73 kg weight division, Justin Lemire competed in one of the bronze medal finals. The Québécois waged a fierce battle before losing by ippon in the final seconds of regulation time to Azerbaijan’s Rashid Mammadaliyev, who is ranked seventh in the world.
“It was a tough challenge for Justin, but he really rose to the occasion. He held his own against one of the best in the category and proved he can stand up to highly ranked opponents. It didn’t end the way he would have liked, but he has a lot to be proud of,” said Valois-Fortier of Lemire, who nevertheless posted the best result of his Grand Prix career today.
Lemire began the day by defeating Gambia’s Faye Nije, before losing by ippon to Azerbaijan’s Hidayat Heydarov, who holds a top ten spot in the weight class and later won the gold medal. In the repechage, Lemire redeemed himself with an impressive ippon against Spain’s Campillo Fernandez, thus advancing to his first Grand Prix final.
“Overall, [Justin] had a good day, and his win in the repechage was a big one. In my personal opinion, this was his best senior-level tournament yet, and that bodes well for the future,” concluded Valois-Fortier.
The only other Canadians in action on Saturday in Guadalajara were David Popovici and François Gauthier-Drapeau. Both were eliminated in the second round of the under-81 kg contest, which was won by Vusal Galandarzade of Azerbaijan.
The Guadalajara Grand Prix will conclude on Sunday. Three Canadians will be in action: Coralie Godbout (-78 kg) will seek a second consecutive Grand Prix podium finish, while Guillaume Gaulin (-90 kg) and Kyle Reyes (-100 kg) represent Canada in the men’s competition.
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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada
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