Ontario had a great showing in the individual competition at the 2023 Canada Winter Games in Charlottetown, PEI. All the athletes competed with pride representing Team Ontario and after two days of competition, Ontario judoka captured 2 Gold, 2 Silver and 4 Bronze medals. Those results put Ontario in medal contention in both the Men’s and Women’s team tournament on Saturday and contribute to the overall medal count for Team Ontario.
After arriving in PEI on Sunday evening, the team has been supported by a massive army of volunteers as they navigate the main village of over 2000 athletes, coaches and support staff. Everything is running like clockwork, and with the unmistakable East Coast hospitality and friendliness.
The first challenge on day 1 of competition was getting access to the spectator seats. The local crowd was huge, and Ontario was fortunate to have a small but mighty group of family and coaches out to cheer on the athletes. Shon Tanksy (Taifu Judo Club) lead the way for Team Ontario, going undefeated to the final round where he captured the silver medal. Arel Roitman (Taifu Judo Club) and Dilana Gesa (Shin Bu Kan /Mississauga Judo Club) both fought back from a loss in their first matches to win the bronze medal. Andrey Mejery (Taifu Judo Club) won his first 2 matches and then came up short in the semi-final to the eventual silver medallist, and narrowly missed out on the bronze medal. Angelina McCristal (Upper Canada Judo Club) came up just short in her bronze medal match, after making it through the rounds including a final match against fellow Ontario athlete Sasha Weldon (Formokan Judo Club). Finally, Andrei Philippe Manuel (Scarborough Dojo) also won his first match before being knocked out of the main draw and then didn’t advance to the bronze medal match.
The crowds showed up again for day 2, setting the stage for an exciting final day of individual competition. Leading Team Ontario were gold medalists, Kiera Burt (Upper Canada Judo Club) and Tigran Kryvytskyi (Taifu Judo Club). Kiera went through the rounds, winning each match by ippon and putting on a great display of technique as she stepped to the top of the podium. Tigran was also dominant in his matches, showing strength and agility as he ended up on top in a hard-fought final match for gold. Lasha Tsatsalashvili (Taifu Judo Club) went through the rounds easily and ended the day with the silver medal after a tactical final match. Margot Chevalier (Hayabusakan) won her first match, missed out in the second match, and then rebounded to win her remaining matches to capture the bronze medal. Lucas Allen (Huntsville Judo Club) dropped his first match and went on to win all his remaining matches to also get the bronze medal. Cleea Straklevski (Ajax Budokan) also dropped her first match, battling back to the bronze medal match before narrowing missing the win against her opponent. Finally, Zen Mineque (Trent Univ Judo Club) fought hard through an early injury to take third place in her pool, unfortunately not advancing to the final rounds.
With individual competition wrapped up, the coaches and athletes are preparing for the team competition on Saturday with their sights set on a medal in both categories. You can follow all the events by livestream.
Results
F-48
1. Charlize Isabelle MEDILO AB
2. Ekaterina DANILKOV BC
3. Addyson TAMURA AB
3. Melody GRENIER QC
5. Angelina MCCRISTALL ON
7. Sasha WELDON ON
F-52
1. Leanna AU BC
2. Isla DIESMOS AB
3. Laurence GAGNON QC
3. Dilana GESA ON
M-50
1. Antoine DESGRANGES QC
2. Connor HAZELL AB
3. Avery PAMPOLINA MB
3. Arel ROITMAN ON
M-55
1. Loic BEATON AB
2. Tayven TREMBLAY AB
3. Antoine JEANPIERRE QC
3. Nathan THIEL BC
5. Andrey MEJERY ON
M-60
1. Raph GAANAN BC
2. Lowan LE BRIS BC
3. Egan MCLEAN NB
3. Aden KIM AB
7. Andrei Philippe MANUEL ON
M-66
1. Fahd FITHANE QC
2. Shon TANSKY ON
3. Troy GALLANT AB
3. Ashton DEBRUYNE SK
F-57
1. Catherine TOSHKOV QC
2. Mahée SAVOIE NB
3. Jaymi HINCHEY YT
3. Aliya KOLIASKA AB
5. Cleea STRAKLEVSKI ON
F-63
1. Loïka ROBERTSON QC
2. Callie RENDER AB
3. Margot CHEVALIER ON
3. Dakota SANZANA NB
F-70
1. Kiera BURT ON
2. Charline BOURQUE QC
3. Abigail SMITH NS
3. Maralgoo BATBAYAR AB
F+70
1. Frédérique LAVIGNE QC
2. Brandi LINGLEY NB
3. Marianna KARAS AB
3. Kandice VERGE NS
6. Zen MINEQUE ON
M-73
1. Arthur KARPUKOV QC
2. Lasha TSATSALASHVILI ON
3. Félix CYR NB
3. Zach HARRIS BC
M-81
1. Tigran KRYVYTSKYI ON
2. Habib Said MOHAMMAD AB
3. Daniel EKOSKY MB
3. Louis DOYON QC
M+81
1. John Jr MESSE A BESSONG QC
2. Lucas MACDONALD PE
3. Lucas ALLEN ON
3. Josiah HALLETT SK