Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard of Canada reacts after winning the under-63 kilogram category bronze medal
match against Anriquelis Barrios of Venezuela in the judo match at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, on July 27, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Vincent Thian
ANTALYA, Turkey – Canadian judokas Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard and François Gauthier-Drapeau both earned bronze medals on Saturday at the Antalya Grand Slam in Turkey.
Beauchemin-Pinard defeated Austria’s Lubjana Piovesana for the podium finish. Taking advantage of an opening in the fourth and final minute, the Montreal native pinned her opponent to the ground to win by ippon in the under-63 kilogram category.
Earlier Saturday, Beauchemin-Pinard – the reigning Olympic bronze medallist – won three fights, two of them in overtime.
However, the 28-year-old dropped a decision to Brazil’s Ketleyn Quadros, who later went on to win gold.
In the men’s under-81 kilogram category, Gauthier-Drapeau defeated Uzbekistan’s Sharofiddin Boltaboev in overtime in the bronze-medal final.
It was the third podium finish in the last four Grand Slam tournaments for the Alma, Que., native.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 1, 2023.
