Canada Rakes in Another 15 Medals in Guayaquil

Montréal, April 30, 2026 – Canada’s judo team continued its winning streak on Wednesday at the Pan-American Championships in Guayaquil, Ecuador. The junior judokas collected another 15 medals, equalling the tally set by their cadet counterparts yesterday.

Lowan Le Bris (-73 kg) and Vincent Roberge-Poitras (-66 kg) were the two standout performers of the day, finishing on top of the podium in their respective weight classes.

After receiving a first-round bye, Le Bris posted a win at the end of a marathon match against Brazil’s Jose Tiago Philo that ran more two and a half minutes into overtime. He then fought a heated battle against his compatriot Fahd Fithane in the semi-finals, before capping it all off with a victory over Ecuador’s Jose Gonzalez in the big final.

“[Lowan] had a very busy day, with big wins against tough opponents like Fahd. But he remained relaxed and in control all day. He’s started to gain international experience, and it shows,” said Canadian coach Antoine Bouchard.

Vincent Roberge-Poitras also had to face a fellow Canadian today when he squared off against Éliandre Barriault-Tremblay in the under-66 kg big final. Roberge-Poitras quickly took control of the bout, which he won in two minutes.

Earlier, he had defeated Jose Sebastian Perez Saldivar of Mexico and Caua Schramm of Brazil as he battled his way to the finals.

“[Vincent] had a big day, and he did a great job against the Brazilian. The final match was over more quickly than we expected. He managed that fight well, making good use of opportunities to score valuable points,” explained Bouchard.

Artem Neyolov (-81 kg), Matthew Molchanov (-90 kg), Yehor Paladii (-100 kg), Carla Van Zyl (-63 kg), and Frédérique Lavigne (+78 kg) all won silver medals on Wednesday, along with Barriault-Tremblay.

Fahd Fithane (-73 kg), Merab Iokhmusashvili (+100 kg), Rima Bourihane (-52 kg), Hayden Thibeault (-57 kg), Charlie Thibault (-70 kg), Emiliya Aliyeva (-78 kg), and Olivia Wosniowski (+78 kg) captured bronze.

“I’m very happy with our athletes! We expected they’d win several medals, of course, but I think they’ve exceeded even our own expectations. And what’s great is that we saw excellent performances from athletes from all parts of Canada. It’s impressive!” concluded the coach.

The Cadet and Junior Pan-American Championships will conclude on Thursday with the team competitions.

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada

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