A Silver Medal for Guillaume Gaulin in Tunis

Montréal, February 16, 2025 – Guillaume Gaulin set some lofty goals for himself in Tunis, and after he captured the silver medal in the under-90 kg category on Sunday, it’s safe to say he achieved them.

Photo : African Judo Union
Guillaume Gaulin (on the left side)

After winning his first three matches on the final day of the tournament, Gaulin found himself up against Amir Abbas Choopan of Iran in the big final. However, the judoka from Quebec struggled to adapt to his left-handed opponent’s style and lost the match by ippon following thirty seconds of combat.

“I think Guillaume wishes he could have a do-over, in order to make the necessary adjustments,” said coach Antoine Bouchard, following the competition. “They were pretty well-matched as opponents, but we didn’t know much about him, so Guillaume was caught off-guard. It’s unfortunate, but overall, Guillaume performed well.”

To begin his day on Sunday, Gaulin received a first-round bye. He then ousted Sayfiddin Boymirzoev of Tajikistan, Mariano Coto Bersier of Argentina, and Sid Ali Benaboura of Algeria to advance to the big final.

According to Bouchard, Gaulin was well-prepared for the tournament, and had made the adjustments he needed in order to improve upon his seventh-place finish in Slovenia last week.

“Guillaume made all the right adjustments, and he really dominated his first three bouts. He was solid, as were his attacks, and he made some great throws. It was a valuable experience for him,” analyzed Bouchard. Today’s medal was Gaulin’s third at a Continental Open.

Also on Sunday, David Popovici and Olivier Gagnon competed in the under-81 kg category.

After dispatching of Algeria’s Anis Boumediene Kada in the first round, Popovici was defeated by Italy’s Vincenzo Pelligra, who later won the gold medal. However, the Canadian pulled himself back up in the repechage, edging out Morocco’s Amine Yassif to advance to one of the two bronze medal finals, where he ultimately suffered a heartbreaking loss to Tajikistan’s Ilhomiddin Jabborov. He finished the day in fifth place.

“David tried a little too hard,” admitted Bouchard. “He made an error in the heat of battle and lost his chance at that final win. It’s disappointing for him, but he still had a good day overall.”

As for Gagnon, his day came to a quick end when he lost his first and only bout to Elyas Parhizgar of Iran, who later won the category’s silver medal.

Yesterday, Marie-Lune Turmel won four bouts to claim the crown in the under-48 kg weight class, while Laurence Biron secured the under-63 kg silver medal after winning three matches.

“Marie-Lune made good use of her expertise in floor work, and she remained calm and cool throughout. Although she fell behind twice, she never panicked, and that’s what allowed her to win the gold. As for Laurence, she would have liked to do better in her final bout, but she should be proud of her performance. Both women had a great two weeks on this trip,” said Bouchard.

Canada therefore concludes the Tunis Open with three podium finishes and, even more importantly, additional experience that will allow the athletes to progress ever further.

“For us, the number of medals isn’t the most important thing. Overall, we had some great results, as well as some less great ones, but most of the athletes demonstrated that they’re at a high enough level to be here, and that they have the potential to go even further,” concluded the coach.

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada

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Patrick Esparbès
Chief Operating Officer
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p.esparbes@judocanada.org