Montreal, January 11, 2021 – It’s a new year, but one thing hasn’t changed: Jessica Klimkait once again made it to the podium at a major judo tournament. At the Doha Masters Tournament in Qatar on Monday, the Ontarian needed only 13 seconds to defeat Israel’s Timna Nelson Levy in the under-57 kg bronze medal final.

Klimkait quickly grabbed her opponent’s left leg and threw her onto her back to score an ippon.

“Although I didn’t think it would be over so quickly, I did expect a good outcome because I know her well. I don’t often get to make that kind of move in a tournament because the girls don’t usually get too close to me. It was nice to be able to show a different side of my judo. The opportunity was there so I took it,” explained the 24-year-old.

At the Grand Slam in Hungary last fall, Klimkait won the gold medal while Nelson Levy earned bronze.

In Monday’s semi-final round, the Whitby native was defeated by France’s Sarah Léonie Cysique, who went on to secure the silver medal. The bout was decided by waza-ari at the very end of regulation time.

“My approach wasn’t what I wanted it to be in that match. I wasn’t able to adjust my strategy,” recounted Klimkait, who says she’s in great shape right now. “Of course I wanted to win, but it was also a good reminder that I have to adjust my approach right from the start, so it was a bittersweet loss. Although I didn’t manage to do it today, it was a good learning experience because we haven’t had a lot of chances to compete lately. I intend to take advantage of every learning opportunity I get.”

Earlier, Klimkait ousted Poland’s Julia Kowalczyk by ippon and North Korea’s Lien Chen-Ling by waza-ari.

In today’s under-57 kg gold medal final, Japan’s Yoshida Tsukasa overpowered Cysique in a combat that went five minutes into overtime. The second bronze medal was awarded to Kosovo’s Nora Gjakova.

In the under-52 kg category, Ecaterina Guica (La Prairie) lost her only fight of the day to France’s Astride Gneto, who ended her own day with a bronze medal.

Tuesday will be a busy day for the Canadian team, with five of its athletes hitting the tatamis in Doha. Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard (-63 kg) will compete on the women’s side, while Antoine Bouchard (-73 kg), Arthur Margelidon (-73 kg), Étienne Briand (-81 kg) and Antoine Valois-Fortier (-81 kg) will fight on the men’s.

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada
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