Priscilla Gagné Captures Bronze in Tbilisi

Montréal, March 24, 2026 – Following a shaky start in round one of the Para Judo World Cup in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Tuesday, Priscilla Gagné recovered in fine form, winning her next three matches and securing the third spot on the podium in the J1 under-52 kg category.

Gagné’s final bout of the day consisted of a showdown between veterans, where she defeated independent athlete Victoria Potapova, a four-time Paralympic medallist.

“The two athletes know each other well. They’ve both been on the circuit for quite a while. Priscilla fought well. She got off to a good start, and she executed some great sequences to win by ippon,” said Franck Moussima, coordinator and coach of the Canadian team.

Earlier in the day, Gagné fell to Egypt’s Omnia Dawoud in the first round, losing by waza-ari at the end of regulation time. The Canadian then moved on to the repechage, where she dominated her way to the bronze medal match. She first defeated Nargiza Khaydarova of Uzbekistan by ippon, before doing the same to Mexico’s Jocelyn Ortiz Carreon a few minutes later.

“The first match was a bit disappointing. Priscilla made a slight error, and her opponent capitalized on it. Priscilla’s next two fights, however, were excellent. She really dominated those two bouts, and her opponents didn’t stand much of a chance,” explained Moussima, proudly.

“Priscilla was hoping for a better result, but she’s happy nonetheless. We took note of a few things to work on, but we’ll also focus on her strengths as she prepares for the World Championships next spring,” he added.

The category’s big winner was Sandrine Martinet-Aurières of France, who defeated independent athlete Alesia Stepaniuk by ippon to clinch the gold medal.

In the J1 under-81 kg division, Eitel Houedakar lost his first and only bout of the day by ippon to Min Woo Lee of South Korea. His result on Tuesday was both disappointing and encouraging, according to the national coach.

“I saw some good things from Eitel. He dominated the match and led the scoring. However, after his first attack, he felt a pain in his left shoulder. He probably tried to end the match quickly, so that he’d have more time to rest before his next one. But unfortunately, he ended up on the ground and he lost by ippon,” explained Moussima. “But I’m happy with what we saw today. The sequences we practised in training have paid off in points. Eitel shows no hesitation, and he’s starting to find his footing in his weight class.”

In the J2 under-60 kg weight class, Montréal’s Justin Karn was prevented from competing due to administrative issues.

“Certain classification-related documents were not up to date, and we weren’t able to obtain what we needed in time. These things happen, unfortunately. It was a setback, but he’ll be ready for his next competitions,” concluded Moussima.

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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