François Gauthier-Drapeau Crowned Champion at Paris Grand Slam
Montréal, February 2, 2025 – François Gauthier-Drapeau has been hoping for a Grand Slam gold medal for some time now. He finally attained his goal on Sunday in Paris, with a spectacular performance in the under-81 kg weight category.
Photo Emanuele di Feliciantonio
Before today, the 27-year-old judoka held seven bronze and one silver Grand Slam medals, but he had yet to taste complete victory. At both the 2023 and 2024 Paris tournaments, he won bronze in the under-81 kg weight class.
“This was a huge win! I’m really happy! At the beginning of the day, when I saw the names of everyone who was competing in the tournament, I thought it would be extremely difficult. It almost seemed unattainable, but today, I did it!” said the victor.
After receiving a first-round bye at this weekend’s event, Gauthier-Drapeau defeated Mongolia’s Shinebayar Oyunchimeg in his first bout of the day. He then ousted Alpha Oumar Djalo and Arnaud Aregba, both of France.
When he reached the big final, the Canadian was determined not to squander the opportunity to climb to the top of the podium, and he never doubted he could make it happen. He had full confidence in his ability to defeat Nugzari Tatalashvili of the United Arab Emirates.
“I had 100% confidence in myself! I was feeling so great today, and I’ve improved so much since the last time I fought him, that I knew I could beat him.”
However, Tatalashvili also had his sights set on a first gold Grand Slam medal, and he put up a strong fight during the hotly contested match. Before long, he had forced Gauthier-Drapeau to take two penalties. Gauthier-Drapeau therefore found himself in a tight spot, but he held his ground, scoring a waza-ari with less than 20 seconds of regulation time left.
“When I scored, I didn’t know how much time was left. I looked at the scoreboard and saw that I had to survive another 20 seconds. Antoine [Valois-Fortier] told me to play it smart and keep my cool. The last thing I wanted was a third penalty! My opponent came at me like a bulldozer, but I held on!”
The Canadian then rushed off the mat to celebrate with his coach, Antoine Valois-Fortier.
“What a day for François! From start to finish, he was perfect, both technically and tactically. He was a joy to watch,” said the national team coach. “The Olympics lit a fire under him. And his seventh-place finish added fuel to that fire, which is nice to see.”
The two under-81 kg bronze medals were awarded to Matthias Casse of Belgium and Omar Rajabli of Azerbaijan.
Gauthier-Drapeau will back in action in two weeks, at the Baku Grand Slam.
Also in the under-81 kg weight class, Ontario’s Keagan Young won his first match of the day against Matteo Giordano of France, before bowing out to Zaur Dvalashvili of Georgia in the next round.
In the under-78 kg bracket, Coralie Godbout lost her first and only bout of the day to Zanet Michaelidou of Cyprus.
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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada
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