Montréal, March 8, 2025 – Catherine Toshkov displayed fierce determination at the Junior European Cup in Portimão, Portugal, where she bounced back from a quarter-final loss to finish the day on the third step of the podium in the under-63 kg category.
The Québécoise began her day with a victory over Martina Obrador Gonzalez of Spain, but bowed out to Lucia Carpio Fernandez, also of Spain, in the next round. She then moved on to the repechage, where she clinched three back-to-back wins against Nicole Basili of Italy, Leyre Villamediana Juncal of Spain, and Olena Suzanna Hrebenyk Savchak of Spain to claim her spot on the podium.
“It was a good day for Catherine, who worked hard all tournament. In the quarter-final, she stuck to her game plan and dominated the fight, but at one point, she lost her focus. Her opponent took advantage of that and threw her to the ground,” said Toshkov’s coach, Sasha Mehmedovic. Toshkov also won a bronze medal at last week’s Junior European Cup in Málaga.
“In the repechage, she got her motivation back, and then she did very well. She stuck to her strategy in every match,” he added. “This is her second European medal in a row in her new weight division. She continues to improve, and I’m convinced we’ll see her in a big final one day.”
In the same weight class, Sara-Anne Beaudin finished the day with one win and two losses, while in the under-78 kg draw, Abigail Smith lost both her bouts.
On the men’s side, Dylan De Jesus (-66 kg) ended the tournament with a record of one win and two losses. After bowing out to Eduardo Miranda Galindo of Spain, he defeated Jose Sereno of Portugal in the repechage. However, he was unable to get the better of Italy’s Nicholas Annino in the next round.
Also in the under-66 kg division, Daniil Kremerman, Alexis Kearney, and Luke Thomson were all eliminated in their first battles of the day. Muhammad Turajev met the same fate in the under-60 kg category.
In the under-73 kg weight class, Fahd Fitane ousted Peter Davies of Great Britain before being eliminated by Kayna Sergio De Oliveira Leal of Spain.
The Portimão Junior European Cup will continue on Sunday. Angelina McCristall (-48 kg), Valeria Kostrovets (-52 kg), Carla Van Zyl (-57 kg), Hayden Thibeault (-57 kg), and Yehor Paladii (-100 kg) will be the Canadians to watch.
First win for Arthur Margelidon
Although Arthur Margelidon was knocked out in the second round of the Linz Grand Prix on Saturday, it was his impressive victory earlier in the day that attracted attention in Austria. It was his first win in the under-81 kg weight division.
The Québécois had a strong start to the competition, defeating France’s Alpha Oumar Djalo, who is ranked 31st in the world in the weight class, in just a few seconds to advance to the next round.
“Arthur faced a tough opponent in his first round, but he executed a super ippon, very fast, for a spectacular win,” enthused his coach, Antoine Valois-Fortier.
Next up for Margelidon was Vladyslav Kolobov of Ukraine, whom he fought just under a month ago at the European Open in Ljubljana. As today’s match came to a close, Kolobov scored a waza-ari, and the Canadian ran out of time to retaliate.
“When you move to a new weight category, there are a lot of changes, and it can take some time to adapt. [Arthur’s] first win in the under-81 kg category today was a good sign. He also fought much better against the Ukrainian than he did last time,” explained Valois-Fortier.
In the under-73 kg division, Justin Lemire lost his first and only bout to Zelemkhan Batchaev of Belgium.
In the under-63 kg weight class, Laurence Biron defeated Flavia Favorini of Italy before being eliminated by Joni Geilen of the Netherlands. Geilen scored a point early in the match and, despite the relentless efforts of the Canadian, managed to hold on to her lead until the clock ran out.
Evelyn Beaton (-52 kg) lost her first and only bout in Austria to Mascha Ballhaus of Germany.
On Sunday, Coralie Godbout (-78 kg) will be the only Canadian in action on the final day of the Linz Grand Prix.
-30-
Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada
For more information:
Patrick Esparbès
Chief Operating Officer
Judo Canada
(514) 668-6279
p.esparbes@judocanada.org