Montreal judoka Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard wins gold at Tel Aviv Grand Slam

Montreal judoka Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard fought to a gold medal in the under-63 kilogram category on Friday at the Tel Aviv Grand Slam.

Beauchemin-Pinard won her third career gold on the circuit and first since 2021 when she defeated Cuba's Maylin Del Toro Carvajal in the grand final in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Del Toro defeated Beauchemin-Pinard in a bronze-medal match two weeks ago at the Paris Grand Slam.

Then, after several more efforts on the floor, she grabbed Del Toro Carvajal's arm, forcing her to give up and scoring an ippon for the win.

"In going for this medal, I felt a bit like I was avenging myself," Beauchemin-Pinard said. "I could see the error I had made in Paris, and I didn't want to let it happen again. I avoided contact with her and I kept my distance. I concentrated on my own judo and on avoiding her traps."

In men's action, Francois Gauthier-Drapeau of Alma, Que., earned bronze in the men's under-81 kg weight category when he defeated Portugal's Joao Fernando by ippon after two minutes of fighting.

Canada has won four medals at the Tel Aviv Grand Slam, which concludes Saturday.

On Thursday, Jessica Klimkait beat Christa Deguchi in an all-Canadian final in the women's under-57 kg event.

Klimkait, who earned bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, won by waza-ari in a close contest between the former world champions that lasted over eight minutes.