Canadian Olympic bronze medalist Jessica Klimkait of Whitby, Ontario, and Francois Gauthier-Drapeau of Alma, Quebec each won medals this past weekend at the Judo Grand Slam in Paris. Klimkait won the silver medal in the women’s 57 kilogram division, and Gauthier-Drapeau won a bronze medal in the men’s 81 kilogram division. For Klimkait, who won the bronze medal in the women’s 57 kilogram division at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021, it was her 11th grand slam medal of her career. She has won four gold medals, three silver medals, and four bronze medals. Gauthier-Drapeau meanwhile won his third career grand slam judo medal. He previously won bronze medals in Baku, Azerbaijan on November 5, 2021, and in Tel Aviv, Israel on February 17, 2022.
Klimkait won her silver medal on Saturday. She won Pool B by beating Atlantasetseg Batsukh of the United Arab Emirates, Seija Ballhaus of Germany, and Daria Bilodid of Ukraine. Klimkait then beat Haruka Funakubo of Japan in the semifinals, before losing to Priscilla Gneto of France for the gold medal. Bilodid and Funakubo each won bronze medals.
Gauthier-Drapeau won his first three matches in Pool D on Saturday as he beat Jose Maria Mendiola Izquieta of Spain, Abylaikhan Zhubanazar of Kazakhstan, and Shamil Borchashvili of Austria, before losing to Timo Cavelius of Germany. Gauthier-Drapeau then won both of his matches in the Repechage, as he beat Joao Fernando of Portugal, and Vedat Albayrak of Turkey. Tato Grigalshvili of Georgia won the gold medal and Cavelius won the silver medal. The other bronze medal went to Alpha Oumar Dual of France. The medals for Klimkait and Gauthier-Drapeau will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
