This week, Olympic judo champion Christa Deguchi is setting out on a tour of Canada, where she will meet with young judokas and share with them her love for the sport, which recently took her to the top of the Olympic podium—a first in the history of judo in this country!
Her tour will begin on November 5 in Burnaby, British Columbia, and will end on November 19 in Dieppe, New Brunswick, with stops in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, and Montréal along the way.
Deguchi, who holds the number one spot in the world judo rankings in the under-57 kg category, had a perfect run in the individual competition on July 27 in Paris, at her very first Olympic Games. With her defeat of South Korea’s Mimi Huh in the final, Deguchi became the first athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in judo for Canada.
The 29-year-old also won an additional three Grand Slam gold medals in 2024.
“We’re very proud of the fact that Christa has agreed to take part in a cross-country tour to tell her story and spread the word about judo all across Canada, despite her extremely busy schedule,” said Nicolas Gill, executive director of Judo Canada.
“Judo Canada would also like to thank its partners the Government of Canada, Ford Canada, and Ford Québec, who, by making this project possible, will allow a whole new generation to develop a love for judo.”
During her two-week coast-to-coast trip, Deguchi will take part in promotional activities, school visits, presentations, and activities at local judo clubs.
All the events are free of charge!
Christa Deguchi’s Complete Tour Schedule:
- British Columbia: November 5 (Burnaby) and November 6 (Vancouver). Contact person: Jeremy Lebris
- Alberta: November 8 and 9 (Edmonton). Contact persons: Kelly Thornton and Mark Hicks
- Manitoba: November 10 and 11 (Winnipeg). Contact person: Airton Nakamura
- Ontario: November 12 and 13 (Toronto). Contact person: James Cunningham
- Quebec: November 14 and 15 (Montréal). Contact person: Émilie-Claude Leroux
- New Brunswick: November 18 and 19 (Dieppe and Riverview). Contact person: Denis Collin
Media contact:
Patrick Esparbès
Chief Operating Officer
p.esparbes@judocanada.org
(514) 668-6279