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 Canadian medal bonanza at Rendez-Vous Canada
Montreal, October 5, 2008 – Canada won 28 medals this weekend at the 14th Rendez-Vous Canada judo competition which was held at the Centre Pierre-Charbonneau in Montreal.
On Sunday, Canadian judokas earned five gold medals. Isabel Latulippe of St-Hubert, Que., collected her third consecutive victory in three weeks in women’s 48 kilos defeating Natalie Laffon of the U.S., by Ippon. Maude-Hélène Benoît of Quebec City beat her compatriot Jennie Bonsant for the win in women’s 63 kilos.
In women’s 70 kilos, Kelita Zupancic of Whitby, Ont., bounced Gaelle Possamai of France in the final. ‘’Everything went well for me today,’’ said Zupancic. ‘’I’m pleased because this is my first victory at this competition and I faced a tough field.’’
In men’s competition, Olympians Frazer Will of Star City, Sask., and Nicholas Tritton of Perth, Ont., earned silver medals in 60 kilos and 73 kilos respectively. Will lost to Sergio Pessoa Jr., of Montreal in his final while De Souza Miranda of Brazil took Tritton in his championship match.
‘’Frazer and I know each other well and our bouts are always close,’’ Pessoa told Sportcom. ‘’I’m sure we’ll face each other often over the next few years. Each win is a confidence boost.’’
In the men’s 66 kilos final, Michal Popiel of Montreal defeated Jean-Philippe Gagnon of Baie-Comeau, Que., by a Koka. ‘’I’m ranked second in Canada in this category and Jean-Philippe is third,’’ said Popiel. ‘’With each win I pull further ahead of him.’’
On Saturday, Joliane Melançon of Blainville, Que., won the gold in women’s 57 kilos. She worked hard in her opening two victories by Ippon. In the semfinal against Hannah Martin of the U.S., Melançon won on a penalty assessed to the American after a scoreless draw.
‘’The first two bouts were not easy,’’ Melançon said. ‘’I was feeling jet-lagged and didn’t have much energy (she’ been in Europe the past several weeks). But I found strength against the American.’’
In the final, Melançon defeated Jeannie Andreason of Sweden scoring an Ippon for her first career victory at the tournament. ‘’I’m pleased because I displayed a lot of versatility in my bouts,’’ she said. ‘’More and more I’m winning by throws rather than just by pinning my opponent.’’
Amy Cotton of Judique, N.S., and Lenuta Berinde of Montreal added victories on Saturday in women’s 78 kilos and 78 kilos and over. Ontario’s Renee Guggino led a Canadian medal sweep in women’s 52 kilos with Alberta’s Laurie Wiltshire second and Andreia Telechi and Tomoki Mori, both of Montreal, taking the bronze.
Julien Paradis of Varennes, Que., and Scott Edward of Calgary earned silver in men’s 55 kilos and 100 kilos respectively.
Bronze medals were added by Alyssa Caughy ( 78 kilos and over), Patrick Desparois (55 kilos) Bianca Ockedahl ( 48 kilos), all of Montreal; Guillaume Perrault (81 kilos) of Longueuil, Que., Alexandre Émond (90 kilos) of Varennes, Sabrina Baron (70 kilos) of Alma, Que., Émilie-Claude Leroux (63 kilos) of Terrebonne, Que., Pierre-Alexandre Laforest (66 kilos) of Boischatel, Que., Serguei Zamotine (66kilos) of Alberta, and Ontario judokas Katy Bryant (70 kilos) and Ian Alexander and Tony Walby (100 kilos and over).
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