Both decorated with bronze on Saturday, Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard and François Gauthier-Drapeau experienced very different sensations on the tatami mats of the Grand Slam in Antalya, Turkey. If the first had to draw on her reserves to achieve her goals in the under 63 kg category, the second did not lack motivation to make her way to the third step of the podium in the under 81 kg category.
“It was a funny day!” I woke up this morning and it was more difficult. I didn’t have a lot of motivation and I just focused on fighting to the best of my ability,” said Beauchemin-Pinard, who didn’t let anything show in the bronze final.
Opposed to the Austrian Lubjana Piovesana, the Quebecer remained in control for most of the duel, taking advantage of an opening in the fourth and last minute to immobilize her rival on the ground and win by ippon.
“I knew her well and I had also beaten her in Paris in February. I knew she could be dangerous and she surprised me a bit on the first take. Then I came back to my game plan and I applied it to the letter. I knew it was going to pay off,” she said as she exited the podium.
Earlier in the day, the Tokyo Games bronze medalist had won her first three bouts, including two in overtime. Fatigue then got the better of her in the semi-finals. She then lost by ippon against the eventual winner of the tournament, the Brazilian Ketleyn Quadros.
“I really wasn’t in my best shape today (Saturday) and it showed against Quadros. It was hard to push and I wasn’t able to fight at my usual level against her,” admitted the reigning runner-up and second in the category standings.
“Luckily I was able to get over that for my last fight so it’s still positive,” she continued. It shows me that even on my worst days, I am able to get on the podium. It was a good mental exercise and it will certainly be useful for me for the worlds which arrive in May in Qatar. »
For his part, François Gauthier-Drapeau had only one idea in mind on Saturday morning: to find the top 3 after having a more difficult exit in Tbilisi, Georgia, last weekend. The least we can say is that he did not miss his chance, finishing on the third step of the podium by virtue of a victory against Sharofiddin Boltaboev, of Uzbekistan.
“I feel like I’ve redeemed myself from my last weekend. It would have been really boring to come back from this trip without a medal and I’m really happy with my performance. It feels good ! launched the representative of the maple leaf at the end of the day.
In his fifth and final outing of the tournament, the Quebecer proved intractable against Boltaboev, against whom he had bowed out in the bronze final of the 2022 Paris Grand Slam. This time, Gauthier-Drapeau had the last laugh overtime, but not necessarily in the desired way.
“I countered him in the middle of the fight and I felt he hurt his leg. It was going well for me and he still wanted to continue despite the injury. We went to overtime, but the pain was too bad and he had to give up, ”explained the Quebecer.
The athlete from Alma thus won a third bronze medal in his last four Grand Slam outings. His only setback came in the quarter-finals, when he was beaten by ippon after more than 10 minutes of hostilities against the other bronze medalist in the category, Frenchman Alpha Oumar Djalo.
“In the end, it had turned into a dogfight!” Personally, my strategy was completely different and I tried all the techniques I could do, but I was not able to finish the fight. I kept the intensity to the maximum, but he finally had the last laugh,” commented Gauthier-Drapeau, who made sure to finish on a high note by overcoming Spaniard Jose Maria Mendiola Izquieta and of Boltaboev at the conclusion of his tournament.
Also in action on Saturday, Arthur Margelidon (1-1) and Antoine Bouchard (0-1) could not obtain a classification in the under 73 kg category. Similar observation for Mohab ElNahas, eliminated from the start in the under 81 kg table
The Antalya Grand Slam will end on Sunday with the presentation of activities in five categories. In the under 100 kg, vice-world champion Kyle Reyes will tread the tatami, as will his teammate Sahdy ElNahas.