Klimkait Captures Gold in New Weight Class, Gauthier-Drapeau Secures Silver

Montréal, February 15, 2025 – Jessica Klimkait climbed to the top of the podium at the Baku Grand Slam in Azerbaijan on Saturday, while François Gauthier-Drapeau stood on the second.

In the first international competition of her career in the under-63 kg weight category, Klimkait performed exceptionally well, winning all four of her bouts.

“What a way to make an entrance into her new category!” exclaimed Antoine Valois-Fortier, high performance director and head coach at Judo Canada. “She could not have asked for a better outcome. And not only was she a strong contender, but she dominated most of her fights.”

Photo Emanuele Feliciantonio, IJF
Jessica Klimkait

In her first-round match, the Ontarian ousted Brazil’s Rafaela Silva with two waza-ari. She then dispatched of Austria’s Lubjana Piovesana—ranked sixth in the world—by yuko in the quarter-final.

The Whitby native’s next victim was Natalia Kropska of Poland, whom she defeated by waza-ari. Finally, in the big final, she prevailed over Japan’s Minami Aono when Aono received a third penalty.

Klimkait, a former world champion and Olympic bronze medallist in the under-57 weight class, thus made an impressive debut in her new weight category.

“With an athlete of Jessica’s calibre, we had good reason to be optimistic. But still, it was a test of sorts, to see if she could hold her own. To her credit, she seems to have made all the necessary adjustments,” added Valois-Fortier.

François Gauthier-Drapeau’s drive to win

Two weeks after being crowned champion at the prestigious Paris Grand Slam, François Gauthier-Drapeau added a silver medal to his collection in the under 81-kg category.

“I found that [today] in Baku, he faced higher-level opponents than he did in Paris. He had a pretty tough draw!” said Valois-Fortier. “His will to win says a lot about him. He loves to compete, and he’s always looking for ways to improve. That’s one of his greatest strengths. I had no concerns about François being able to perform well again, only two weeks after Paris.”

Photo Emanuele Feliciantonio, IJF
François Gauthier-Drapeau

In his round-two opening match, the athlete from Alma, QC, battled hard against Nodirbek Mavlonberdiev of Uzbekistan, ultimately winning by yuko.

After dispatching of the Czech Republic’s Jan Svoboda by ippon, Gauthier-Drapeau ousted Egor Sukhoparov with the same score in the quarter-final, following a lengthy six minute and twenty-five second battle.

Once in the final four, the Québécois prevailed by ippon over Bahrain’s Askerbii Gerbekov, who holds the 39th spot in the international rankings. It was the first time in three encounters that Gauthier-Drapeau bested Gerbekov.

In the big final, Gauthier-Drapeau, who is third in the international rankings, faced tenth-place Zelim Tckaev of Azerbaijan. In the first minute of regulation time, Tckaev scored a yuko, and despite Gauthier-Drapeau’s attempts to come back from behind, Tckaev was able to conserve his narrow lead.

“[Tckaev] had a great first minute and a half. He was competing at home and he didn’t want to disappoint his fans. After he scored, it became a game of cat and mouse,” explained Valois-Fortier. “François had a lot of momentum, but he ran out of time in which to secure the win.”

Also in the under 81-kg category, Arthur Margelidon lost his first bout by ippon to Omar Rajabli of Azerbaijan, who is ranked 23rd in the world. For the Québécois, it was only his second international competition in his new weight class. Previously, he fought in the under-73 kg bracket.

Two medals in Tunisia

Several Canadian judokas also competed in the Tunis African Open in Tunisia on Saturday.

Marie-Lune Turmel won four bouts to claim the crown in the under-48 kg division, while Laurence Biron secured the silver medal after winning three matches in the under-63 kg category.

Félix Mercier-Ross (-73 kg) and Daniel McCristall (-66 kg) were both halted in the repechage. Mercier-Ross finished fifth after winning two of his four bouts. McCristall clinched his first match before losing the next two.

Frédéric De Cardaillac (-73 kg) secured a first-round win before being eliminated in the next. Heidi Quach lost her first and only bout in the under-48 kg division, as did Tylor Collin (-60 kg), Daniil Kremerman (-66 kg), and Yanis Hachemi (-73 kg).

On Sunday in Tunisia, Olivier Gagnon and David Popovici will hit the tatamis in the under-81 kg class. Guillaume Gaulin will do the same in the under-90 kg category.

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada

For more information:

Patrick Esparbès
Chief Operating Officer
Judo Canada
(514) 668-6279
p.esparbes@judocanada.org