Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard of Canada celebrates after winning bronze against Anriquelis Barrios of Venezuela.SERGIO PEREZ/Reuters
After experiencing disappointment in Rio, Canada’s Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard was feeling the overwhelming joy of an Olympic medal on Tuesday.
The judoka from St-Hubert, Que., defeated Anriqueli Barrios of Venezuela by waza-ari in extra time to win a bronze in the women’s under-63-kilogram competition. It was Canada’s second judo medal of this Olympics.
Beauchemin-Pinard forced Barrios on her back just three minutes into the sudden-death period. The Canadian pumped her fist and yelled in triumph from the mat after the winning attack.
Beauchemin-Pinard, a two-time Pan American champion, made her Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio Games, where she lost in the second round.
“I knew I was capable of getting a medal today,” she said after her win. “To know how, I was going one fight at a time. I was happy with all my fights.”
She admitted to starting “a little stressed” against Denmark’s Laerke Olsen in the round of 32, but rallied to win. The other fights were “more fluid,” she said.
“I remember after Rio I was really, really disappointed and my reaction was to participate in the Tokyo Games and to give a good performance,” she said. “It was long, but I grew in this process. I’m much more mature now.”
Beauchemin-Pinard said her main feeling at the end was one of relief at having finished a long match.
“But I still had enough energy and I pushed to the end,” she said. “I felt she was tired. I was happy to have kept my concentration, even after having lost in the semifinals.”
The result comes a day after Jessica Klimkait won Canada’s first ever women’s judo Olympic medal with a bronze in the under-57 kg event.
Beauchemin-Pinard won her first three matches by ippon before losing in the semi-finals by waza-ari to five-time world champion Clarisse Agbegnenou of France, who went on to win gold.
The Quebecker said while Agbegnenou is beatable, she was also fired up and wanted to win.
“I had a good plan, but so did she. I’m proud of my fight, at least I lost against the winner, that’s not nothing.”
Beauchemin-Pinard’s trainer, Sasha Mehmedovic, said he told his student to give the best of herself and see what happened.
“The challenge was to regain her concentration, because sometimes judokas are distracted by losing the semi-final,” he said. “She was able to stay in the right frame of mind.”
The bronze-medal winner said she hadn’t yet decided on whether to keep going until the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
She’s working on an accounting degree at a Montreal university, and plans to get her CPA.
“I’ll take it one year at a time,” she said.
Meanwhile, fellow judoka Antoine Valois-Fortier lost his round-of-16match in the men’s under-81-kg event against Russian Alan Khubetsov, who scored a single point in the first sequence by waza-ari that proved to be sufficient.
The 31-year-old Quebecker readjusted and became more aggressive for the rest of the match, but Khubetsov was able to maintain his lead.
“My strategy was to grab my right hand around his collar,” Valois-Fortier said. “From the start of the fight, I saw that his whole work was to pull that hand away.”
Valois-Fortier said it took him a minute to adjust, but it wasn’t enough.
“He quickly took the lead and by then it was too late,” he said.
Valois-Fortier, a bronze medalist in 2012, said he would take the time to digest the result before deciding on his future.
Canada has won a succession of medals at the Tokyo Olympics. Canadian weightlifter Maude Charron won gold in the women’s 64-kilogram competition, Kylie Masse won silver in the women’s 100m backstroke, and Canada won bronze in softball and women’s judo.
The Globe and Mail
visual guide
Olympic judo explained
SCHEDULE
Qualification
Medal
JULY
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
AUGUST
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Judo means the ‘gentle way’, but it is a full-on combat sport in which a false move or the slightest loss of concentration can result in defeat.
The sport originated in Japan in the late 19th century. Judo was introduced as an Olympic sport for men at the Tokyo 1964 Games. Women's events were added to the Olympic programme at Barcelona 1992. The Mixed Team event will make its debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Athletes, known as judoka, wear white or blue judo uniforms
Judo comprises 100 techniques:
68 nagewaza or throwing techniques
32 katamewaza or grappling techniques
The contest is won when:
Competitor scores an ippon or two waza-ari
An opponent is disqualified
An opponent cannot continue and gives up
WEIGHT CLASSES/EVENTS
Men | 7
Women | 7
Mixed team | 1
COMPETITION AREA
18 m
10 m
Safety area
SCORING
The objective is to throw or takedown an opponent to the ground, subdue them with a pinning hold, or force them to submit with a joint lock or a choke. Two waza-ari in one match is the equivalent of ippon. The contest ends after ippon is scored. Contests last 4 minutes.
Osaekomi: Pinning technique
Judge declares osaekomi or a pin has been established when a judoka being held is controlled by the opponent
Ippon: Full point
For a successful throw performed with control and power, or for osaekomi that lasts over 20 seconds
Waza-ari: Half point
For a controlled throw which lacks the quality of an ippon, or for osaekomi that lasts over 10 seconds
SOURCE: REUTERS
SCHEDULE
Qualification
Medal
JULY
AUGUST
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Judo means the ‘gentle way’, but it is a full-on combat sport in which a false move or the slightest loss of concentration can result in defeat.
The sport originated in Japan in the late 19th century. Judo was introduced as an Olympic sport for men at the Tokyo 1964 Games. Women's events were added to the Olympic programme at Barcelona 1992. The Mixed Team event will make its debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Athletes, known as judoka, wear white or blue judo uniforms
Judo comprises 100 techniques:
68 nagewaza or throwing techniques
32 katamewaza or grappling techniques
The contest is won when:
Competitor scores an ippon or two waza-ari
An opponent is disqualified
An opponent cannot continue and gives up
WEIGHT CLASSES/EVENTS
Men | 7
Women | 7
Mixed team | 1
COMPETITION AREA
18 m
10 m
Safety area
SCORING
The objective is to throw or takedown an opponent to the ground, subdue them with a pinning hold, or force them to submit with a joint lock or a choke. Two waza-ari in one match is the equivalent of ippon. The contest ends after ippon is scored. Contests last 4 minutes.
Osaekomi: Pinning technique
Judge declares osaekomi or a pin has been established when a judoka being held is controlled by the opponent
Ippon: Full point
For a successful throw performed with control and power, or for osaekomi that lasts over 20 seconds
Waza-ari: Half point
For a controlled throw which lacks the quality of an ippon, or for osaekomi that lasts over 10 seconds
SOURCE: REUTERS
JULY
AUGUST
SCHEDULE
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Qualification
Medal
Judo means the ‘gentle way’, but it is a full-on combat sport in which a false move or the slightest loss of concentration can result in defeat.
The sport originated in Japan in the late 19th century. Judo was introduced as an Olympic sport for men at the Tokyo 1964 Games. Women's events were added to the Olympic programme at Barcelona 1992. The Mixed Team event will make its debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
WEIGHT CLASSES/EVENTS
Men | 7
Women | 7
Mixed Team | 1
Competition
area
18 m
10 m
Safety area
Athletes, known as judoka, wear white or blue judo uniforms
SCORING
The objective is to throw or takedown an opponent to the ground, subdue them with a pinning hold, or force them to submit with a joint lock or a choke. Two waza-ari in one match is the equivalent of ippon. The contest ends after ippon is scored. Contests last 4 minutes.
Osaekomi: Pinning technique
Judge declares osaekomi or a pin has been established when a judoka being held is controlled by the opponent
Waza-ari: Half point
For a controlled throw which lacks the quality of an ippon, or for osaekomi that lasts over 10 seconds
Judo comprises 100 techniques:
68 nagewaza or throwing techniques
32 katamewaza or grappling techniques
The contest is won when:
Competitor scores an ippon or
two waza-ari
An opponent is disqualified
An opponent cannot continue
and gives up
Ippon: Full point
For a successful throw performed with control and power, or for osaekomi that lasts over 20 seconds
SOURCE: REUTERS
Sign up for The Globe’s Olympic newsletter and follow all of the news, features and opinion in the Summer Games in Tokyo.