Canadian Olympic bronze medalist Jessica Klimkait of Whitby, Ontario beat fellow Canadian Christa Deguchi of Lethbridge, Alberta in the final of the 2023 Tel Aviv Grand Slam event in Israel on Thursday. Klimkait beat Deguchi in the women’s 57 kilogram weight class by a waza-ari for her fifth career grand slam gold medal. Klimkait previously won the 2018 Osaka Grand Slam in Japan, the 2020 Dusseldorf Grand Slam in Germany, the 2020 Hungary Grand Slam, and the 2020 Antalya Grand Slam in Turkey.
Klimkait now has 12 Grand Slam medals overall. She has won three silver medals and four bronze medals to go along with her five gold medals. Deguchi meanwhile now has eight Grand Slam medals overall. She has won six gold medals, one silver medal and one bronze medal. The win by Klimkait had extra meaning because it was her first win over Deguchi in seven career matches.
Klimkait, who won the bronze medal for Canada in the women’s 57 kilogram weight class at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021, was the winner of Pool C. She defeated Seija Ballhaus of Germany, Ivelina Ilieva of Bulgaria, and Ozlem Yildiz of Turkey. Deguchi won Pool A by beating Shannon Van De Meeberg of the Netherlands, Jessica Pereira of Brazil, and Pauline Starke of Germany. In the semifinals, Klimkait defeated Rafaela Silva of Brazil, and Deguchi beat Daria Bilodid of Ukraine. Mina Libeer of Belgium and Timna Nelson Levy of Israel each won the bronze medal. The medals for Deguchi and Klimkait will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
