Judo – PanAmerican Open
Judo – PanAmerican Open
Montreal, March 5, 2016 – Four wins and zero losses! Arthur Margelidon had a perfect record this Saturday at the Judo PanAmerican Open in Lima and climbed on to the highest step of the podium in the Under 73 kg class.
“It was a great day and my judo game was strong,” rejoiced the 22-year-old.
Margelidon got his hands on the gold medal after defeating Brazil’s Alex William Pombo da Silva in the final match. “Last time we faced off, I made a mistake and he beat me. I made sure that didn’t happen again today!”
In the first leg of the tournament, the Quebec athlete made short work of Brazilian Jose Basile and then British Daniel Williams. In the semi-finals, he disposed of Guatemalan Faye Njie.
“There are still some things to work on, but I’m getting closer to qualifying for the Olympics, and today’s result is a good omen, leading up to the PanAmerican Championships,” said Margelidon, a four-time gold medallist at this competitive level.
“Arthur had a very successful day today,” said national coach Sasha Mehmedovic. “He kept his focus and game plan the whole day.”
Sergio Pessoa (Under 60 kg) and Antoine Bouchard (Under 66 kg) both came in fifth in their respective categories.
In the Under 60 kg, Sergio Pessoa won his first three matches, before succumbing to Azeri Vugar Shirinli in the semi-finals. In the fight for one of the bronze medals, the Montrealer yielded to yet another Azeri, Elbrus Zamanov.
In the Under 66 kg, Antoine Bouchard had a similar fate, and also lost a match for the first time in the semi-final round, against Belgian Jasper Lefevere. Turkish Sinan Sandal then kept him from winning the bronze.
“Antoine unfortunately was sick on the day of the competition and was not able to compete at his full potential,” said coach Mehmedovic.
Stéfanie Tremblay Also Fifth
On the women’s side, Stéfanie Tremblay also came in fifth, in the Under 63 kg division. After defeating Brazilian Barbara Faria Ribeiro, the Saguenay athlete came up short against Belgian Sarah Loko.
She then found her way back on track with a victory in repechage over Laura Salles Lopez, from the Principality of Andorra. In the fight for a bronze medal, she ended up knuckling under Russian Marta Labazina.
“Stef was doing well in the match against the Russian, but got surprised with a choke,” mentioned Mehmedovic.
Ecaterina Guica (Under 52 kg) and David Ancor (Under 73 kg) didn’t rank in the competition.
Zurich European Cup
Also on this Saturday, Warren Seib represented Canada in the European Cup in Zurich. Fighting in the Under 73 kg, the Saskatchewan athlete got a bye in the opening round, and then beat Switzerland’s Alexandre Buerli with a waza-ari.
Seib didn’t have the same luck in his second bout, and was eliminated from the competition when he lost to Danish Anders Hvidkaer by waza-ari.
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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada
