Canadian judokas Beauchemin-Pinard, Deguchi win gold at Zagreb Grand Prix
Canadians sweep under-63 kg, under-57 kg categories in the Croatian capital
Canada's Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard won the gold medal in the women's under-63 kilogram category Saturday at the Zagreb Grand Prix judo tournament, one day after compatriot Christa Deguchi won gold in the under-57-kilogram category.
Beauchemin-Pinard beat Brazil's Ketleyn Quadros in the semifinals after scoring a waza-ari a minute and 20 seconds into the bout and hanging on for the win.
The Canadian booked her place in the semis with preliminary-round wins over Joanne Van Lieshout of the Netherlands and Gankhaich Bold of Mongolia after a first-round bye.
Beauchemin-Pinard, a bronze medallist at the Tokyo Olympics, rebounded after a seventh-place finish last week in Budapest, Hungary.
"It feels good to be back on the podium, especially after a tough week like last week," she said. "I wanted to put it behind me quickly and make a strong comeback.
"I knew what had gone badly last week. Today, I really wanted to perform consistently to win the gold medal."
Make it two 🥇 in two days for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamCanada?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TeamCanada</a> at the Judo Grand Prix in Croatia 👏<br><br>Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard took first in the women's -63kg class just a day after Christa Deguchi won gold in the -57kg category 🤩🙌<br><br>Full story ➡️ <a href="https://t.co/8ckW83zBom">https://t.co/8ckW83zBom</a><a href="https://t.co/cQcQHpYDDz">pic.twitter.com/cQcQHpYDDz</a>
—@TeamCanadaDeguchi won gold in the under-57 kg category on Friday over Georgia's Eteri Liparteliani.
The 26-year-old from Japan, who switched to competing for Canada in 2017 due to her father's Canadian heritage, also defeated Slovakia's Kaja Kajzer in the semifinals along with Belgian Mina Libeer in the quarter-finals.
With files from CBC Sports
