French Judo Blogs

Judo Canada is proud to announce the winners of the Sherwood Ford (AB) bursary program as part of the “The Giant” Canadian Circuit Ranking 2025.This program continues to be a great success, promoting Canadian Circuit events and encouraging the participation of Canada’s top athletes across all age categories. Laurence Gagnon and Vincent Nepton, each receiving a $2,500 bursary for their outstanding performances. “Without the precious support and generosity of Mark Hicks , none of this would be... Read more

Montréal, February 1, 2026 – For Canada’s judokas, the Belgian Open provided a wealth of learning opportunities on Sunday. “Most of [the athletes] had the chance to fight in several bouts. And for these relatively young competitors, it made for a healthy dose of experience,” explained Canadian coach Antoine Bouchard. In the under-100 kg weight class, Yehor Paladii withdrew from the tournament during the finals of the repechage. “On paper, he won three matches and lost two, but he actua... Read more

Laurence Gagnon Captures Under-57 kg Silver Montréal, January 31, 2026 – Canada’s female judokas shone at the Belgian Open on Saturday, winning one gold and one silver medal. Photo Judo Canada Charlie Thibault and Laurence Gagnon Charlie Thibault clinched first place in the under-70 kg category, while Laurence Gagnon finished second in the under-57 kg group. “Charlie was never really in any danger. She took complete control of all the sequences. It’s safe to say that she had a... Read more

Montréal, January 25, 2026 – Canada’s judokas collected an impressive number of medals this weekend at the African Open in Casablanca, Morocco. In the senior, junior, and cadet events, the Canadians made a total of nineteen appearances on the podium. Photo Judo Canada Lowan Le Bris, Carla Van Zyl, Catherine Toshkov and Heidi Quach Heidi Quach earned the country’s highest senior-level result, capturing silver in the under-48 kg competition on Sunday. After receiving a first-round ... Read more

Judo Canada is proud to announce the official roster of the 2026 NEXTGEN Team , a national identification program designed to support high-potential young judoka in their long-term development. The NextGen project will offer additional opportunities such as workshops and training camps, and aims to develop tomorrow’s leaders of Canadian judo. For the 2026 season, the selection process generated very strong interest across the country. High-quality applications were received from coast ... Read more

Hello everyone, Very Important message from the PJC that will impact the access to coaching accreditation at Montreal Open/Cup in November 2026 On behalf of Ms. Yuri Alvear, Education Director of the Panamerican Judo Confederation (PJC), we are sharing an important summary regarding the progressive application of certification requirements for coaches, in accordance with point 4.1 of the IJF Sport and Organization Rules (SOR): As of March 1, 2026:  To coach at Panamerican Champions... Read more

https://static.judocanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Liste-des-athletes-brevetes.pdf Read more

Montréal, December 7, 2025 – Canadian judokas  François Gauthier-Drapeau  and  Coralie Godbout  finished seventh in their respective categories on Sunday at the Grand Slam in Tokyo, Japan. Both will depart the event having learned some valuable lessons. Photo IJF (c) Emanuele Di Feliciantonio In the under-81 kg weight category, Gauthier-Drapeau concluded the competition with two wins and two losses. The 27-year-old Canadian, who captured gold at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam last week,... Read more

Montréal, December 6, 2025 –  Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard  would have preferred a stronger result on Saturday in her first competition in nearly six months. However, at the iconic Tokyo Grand Slam in Japan, the Canadian was limited to a single test after receiving a bye in the first round. Photo Tom Taylor – Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard in white In the under-63 kg category, Beauchemin-Pinard was ousted by Israel’s Gili Sharir, the gold medallist at the Zagreb Grand Prix in November,... Read more

Montréal, November 29, 2025 – Canada’s François Gauthier-Drapeau scooped up the second Grand Slam gold medal of his career on Saturday in the United Arab Emirates, ending an outstanding day in the under-81 kg category atop the podium in Abu Dhabi. Photo: IJF François Gauthier-Drapeau After opening the scoring in the first minute of the final against Russia’s Abdul-Kerim Tasuev, he added a waza-ari to the board with just over two minutes to go, on his way to a decisive victory. Howe... Read more