August 28, 2009 – Amy Cotton of Judique, N.S., earned Canada’s best result so far at the world judo championships in Rotterdam placing seventh in women’s 78 kilos on Saturday. ‘’I’m a little disappointed because my goal was to win a medal,’’ said Cotton. ‘’I fought well but it didn’t go my way today. Both girls that beat me won bronze medals which shows I was close.’’ Cotton received a first-round bye then defeated Kayla Harrison of the U.S., the world junior champion, in the second round 2-1 in Yukos. In the third round Cotton lost to Heide Wollert of Germany who scored an Ippon at the 1:47 mark. ‘’In Brazil, Wollert beat me rather easily,’’ recalled Cotton. ‘’Everything was going well today but I made a small error and she capitalized on her opportunity.’’ In the repechage, Yi Sun of China dashed Cotton’s medal hopes winning by a Yuko. ‘’She was faster,’’ said Cotton. ‘’I couldn’t get a solid grip.’’ ‘’There are many girls that can win this category,’’ added Cotton. ‘’I wasn’t expecting Sun and Wollert to get the bronze. That’s judo and that’s why all the bouts in my category are challenging.’’ Marhinde Verkerk of the Netherlands won the gold medal which also surprised Cotton. In men’s 90 kilos, Alexandre Émond of Laval, Que., was eliminated in the first round falling to Kirill Denisov of Russia. Denisov scored an Ippon with two minutes remaining in the bout. Denisov went on to win the silver medal posting three more wins. Kyu-won Lee of South Korea beat the Russian in the final. ‘’Alexandre faced a tough opponent,’’ said Canadian national team coach Nicholas Gill. ‘’There was no scoring in the first half of the bout and Alexandre actually had executed the best attack to that point. But he got into a tough position later on and was thrown for an Ippon.’’ On Sunday, Scott Edward of Calgary competes in men’s 100 kilos. -30- Written by Sportcom (info@sportcom.qc.ca) for Judo Canada (www.judocanada.org)

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