Christa Deguchi of Lethbridge, Alberta made Canadian judo history on Tuesday by becoming the first Canadian world champion in the history of the World Judo Championships. Deguchi won the gold medal in the women’s 57 kilogram division at the 2019 World Judo Championships in Tokyo, Japan.
Deguchi won Pool C at the World Judo Championships. In the pool, she beat Anastasiia Konkina of Russia, Jovana Rogic of Serbia and Sarah Leonie Cysique of France.
Deguchi then reached the semifinals and beat Ivelina Ilieva of Bulgaria before defeating Tsukasa Yoshida of Japan in the gold medal match. Rafaela Silva of Brazil and Julia Kowalczyk of Poland each won the bronze medal.
This is the second straight year that Deguchi has won a medal at the World Judo Championships. Last season in Baku, Azerbaijan, Deguchi won the bronze medal.
However even though Deguchi is the best Canadian female judokan who has ever lived, she is still amazingly not a lock to make the Canadian Olympic team for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.That is because there is another elite Canadian female judokan in the women’s 57 kilogram division and Canada can only send one female judokan in this weight class. Jessica Klimkait of Whitby, Ontario is currently fifth in the world, while Deguchi is second behind Yoshida.
