Throwing down some of Canada’s best judo athletes wasn’t easy, but four from Prince George got the chance to show off their skills in Edmonton.
By the end of the 2019 Canadian Judo Open Nationals over the Victoria Day long weekend, five total bronze medals are heading back to B.C.’s northern capital.
Kimiko Kamstra of the Hart Judo Academy will be wearing two of them around her neck.
The 19-year-old 48 kg division judoka finished with a combined record of 3-3 at Nationals, winning bronze in the women’s Under-21 and Senior Open competitions.
She defeated opponents from Alberta, Quebec, and her own province of B.C. to claim those third-place finishes.
The Academy's Maxwell Young also won bronze in the men's Under-21 60 kg category.
Meanwhile, Tami Goto and Caleigh Kuramoto of the Prince George Judo Club won the other two bronze medals.
Goto went 3-1 in the women’s Under-18 48 kg competition to win her medal and missed out on a second piece of hardware after losing her final match in the women’s Senior Open category of the same weight class.
She won a silver and bronze at the 2018 National Championships in Calgary.
Kuramoto won her first fight in the women’s Under-18 57 kg division, was relegated to the consolation round after losing her second bout, but then won three straight to claim her bronze medal.
Prince George’s Corbin Hilman also made an appearance at Nationals, but was eliminated after his first match in the men’s Under-16 42 kg class.
