Klimkait & Deguchi deliver 1-2 finish for Canada at judo Grand Slam in Tel Aviv

It was an all-Canadian final in the women’s 57kg event at the IJF Grand Slam in Tel Aviv, Israel on Thursday.

In a battle of former world champions, Olympic bronze medallist Jessica Klimkait came away with the victory, defeating teammate Christa Deguchi.

The two women pushed each other in a tight final bout that went well past the four minutes of regulation time. After more than four minutes of golden score time, Klimkait was credited with a waza-ari to get the win.

This was the first time Klimkait defeated Deguchi in a head-to-head matchup. They last met in the final of the Antalya Grand Slam in 2021 when Deguchi earned her sixth straight win against Klimkait.

The two Canadians went to Tel Aviv holding onto the top two spots in the 57kg world rankings, with Deguchi in first place by just 200 points over Klimkait.

Deguchi was the first Canadian judoka to ever win a world title when she claimed the crown in 2019. Two years later, Klimkait became the world champion which secured for her Canada’s lone Olympic berth in the women’s 57kg event for Tokyo 2020.

This is Klimkait’s fifth career Grand Slam victory and her 12th medal of any colour in Grand Slam events. Her last win on the Grand Slam circuit came in April 2022 in Antalya, Turkey. She hasn’t missed a podium in any international event since February 2020. The silver brings Deguchi’s career Grand Slam medal count up to eight.

Competition will continue in Tel Aviv through Saturday. Canada’s contingent also includes Olympic bronze medallist Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard in the women’s 63kg event and reigning world silver medallist Kyle Reyes in the men’s 100kg event.