Montréal, June 29th, 2025 – Canadian judokas Coralie Godbout (-78 kg) and Justin Lemire (-73 kg) stole the show at the Pan American Open in Saint-Dominique, Dominican Republic, with their gold medal performances.
Godbout won her first duel by ippon against Puerto Rican Sairy Colon and overcame Guatemalan Keilly Esteban before facing Colombian Brenda Olaya in the final, who is ranked 13th in the world in her category.
“Her first fight was more complicated than expected. She had already lost to this athlete in the past, but still found a way to win,” rejoiced Canadian team coach Antoine Bouchard.
“Coralie’s second bout was rather easy. In the final, she faced a highly ranked Colombian athlete, but she put up a very good fight and managed to win the gold medal. For me, it was the highlight of the weekend!”
After winning his first tussle against Haitian Hensley Wood-Waldy Petit-Frère, Justin Lemire took on Costa Rican Alejandro Mora in the quarter-finals, before defeating American Christian Buckner by ippon in the semi-finals. The Quebecer ultimately won gold with a victory over Antony Matos of the Dominican Republic.
“It wasn’t his most complicated day. He did exactly what he had to do and dominated his opponents. To win a title, you must beat athletes who’ve still had a good day. In his case, Justin bested all his adversaries relatively easily by using his ground game to prevail in many of his fights,” asserted Bouchard.
Godbout and Lemire were not the only Canadians to step on the podium in the Dominican Republic capital.
In the under-52 kg category, Evelyn Beaton defeated Haitian Marie Ivenide Jean Gilles and Panamanian Lilian Cordones to reach the final, where she was up against Puerto Rican Francine Echevarria. The Canadian had beaten her opponent at the Pan American and Oceania Championships last April but this time, Echevarria had the upper hand.
“Her first two bouts weren’t particularly challenging, and she really dominated her opponents. Unfortunately, she was fooled by a mistake in the final,” added her trainer.
Meanwhile, Marie-Lune Turmel finished seventh in the same category after being eliminated in the first round of the repechage.
Isabelle Harris medals in a new category
Isabelle Harris took silver in her under-70 kg category debut. On the strength of three consecutive victories early on, she lost in the final to Maria Perez of Puerto Rico. “It was her first competition in the under-70 kg category, and it had been a while since she had competed, so I felt she was a little nervous and rusty early on. As the day progressed, I could see she was gaining in confidence. In the final, she was up against one of the best athletes in the category, so the task was a little tougher, but I think this medal is a good sign for the future,” explained Antoine Bouchard.
For her part, Laurence Biron won a bronze medal in the under-63 kg category after losing in the quarter-finals to Venezuela’s Anriquelis Barrios. “True to form, she worked hard in all phases and put in a lot of effort,” explained the coach.
Heidi Quach finished fifth in the under-48 kg category after losing in the repechage to eventual bronze medal winner Erika Lasso from Colombia.
Tylor Collin (-60 kg), Eliandre Barriault-Tremblay (-66 kg), Solomon Choran (-73 kg) and Olivier Gagnon (-81 kg) all lost in the round of 16.
For their part, Alex Marineau (-90 kg) and Luke Thomson (-66 kg) were limited to one bout each.
“Those who won medals were expected to perform well. The others sought the experience,” concluded Bouchard.
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Patrick Esparbès
Chief Operating Officer
Judo Canada
(514) 668-6279
p.esparbes@judocanada.org