Kyle Reyes and Francois Gauther-Drapeau win judo grand slam bronze in Tokyo

Kyle Reyes (Canadian Olympic Committee) (with permission)

Francois Gauthier-Drapeau of Alma, Quebec and Kyle Reyes of Brampton, Ontario each won the bronze medal on Sunday at the International Judo Federation Grand Slam in Tokyo, Japan. Gauthier-Drapeau placed third in the men’s 81 kilogram division, and Reyes placed third in the men’s 100 kilogram division.

Gauthier-Drapeau won his eighth Grand Slam medal. He has now won one silver medal and seven bronze medals. In Tokyo,  Sotaro Fujiwara of Japan won the gold medal, Timur Arbuzov of the International Judo Federation won the silver medal, and Yuhei Oino of Japan won the other bronze medal.

Reyes won his seventh Grand Slam medal. He has now won one gold medal, three silver medals, and three bronze medals. In Tokyo, Matvey Kanikovskiy won the gold medal, Gennaro Pirelli of Italy won the silver medal, and Dota Arai of Japan won the other bronze medal.

In the men’s 81 kilogram division, Gauthier-Drapeau beat Woojin Choi of South Korea in Pool A before losing to Fujiwara. Gauthier-Drapeau then beat Yoshito Hojo of Japan and David Karapetwyan of the International Judo Federation in the Repechage division to win bronze.

In the men’s 100 kilogram division, Reyes beat Dohun Choi of South Korea in Pool D before losing to Arai. In the Repechage, Reyes beat Enkhbayar Altanshagai of Mongolia and Koki Kumasaka of Japan to win bronze. The Grand Slam judo medals for Reyes and Gauthier-Drapeau in Japan will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. 

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