Team Canada Judo athletes for Pan Am Games announced
Feature image: Sergio Pessoa
On Monday, Judo Canada nominated 14 athletes to Team Canada, including Olympians Kelita Zupancic and Sergio Pessoa.
The Mississauga Sports Centre will witness its fair share of throws, locks and thrusts as it becomes home to judo athletes this July. An impressive 12 out of the 14-member Pan Am squad represents the top ranked Canadian judoka in each respective category.
Antoine Bouchard (Rafal Burza, Judo Canada)
In April, Edmonton held the 2015 Pan American Judo Championships where Canadian athletes secured eight medals, including gold by Antoine Bouchard (-66kg) and Zupancic (-70kg).
Dressed in red and white, Burt brothers Zachary (-81kg) and Jonah (-90kg), Marc Deschênes (-100kg), Arthur Margelidon (-73) and Martin Rygielski (+100kg) along with Pessoa (-60kg) will also strive for men’s medals on the Pan Am mats.
The event will be held July 11-14 and include the following categories by weight class:
| Men: | -60kg | -66kg | -73kg | -81kg | -90kg | -100kg | +100kg |
| Women: | -48kg | -52kg | -57kg | -63kg | -70kg | -78kg | +78kg |
Kelita Zupancic (top) faces Puerto Rico’s Maria Perez during the women’s -70 kg judo final at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Oct. 27, 2011.
Guadalajara 2011 Pan Am medallists, Stephanie Tremblay (-63 kg bronze) and Olympian Catherine Roberge (-78 kg silver) will look to improve their performances, while Pan Am rookies Ana Laura Portuondo Isasi (+78 kg), Erin Morgan (-48 kg) and Ecaterina Guica (-52 kg) will seek podium finishes and complete the women’s team.
