Jessica Klimkait claims gold after marathon match
Montréal, April 18, 2026 – Following a grueling 10-minute battle against Brazil’s Rafaela Silva, Jessica Klimkait won the gold medal in the under-63 kg division at the Panamerican Judo Championships on Saturday in Panama City. The Ontario native was joined on the podium by Quebec’s Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard, who won bronze, as did Venezuela’s Anriquelis Barrios.
Photo: CPJ
Rafaela Silva, Jessica Klimkait, Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard and Anriquelis Barrios.
Quebecers Charlie Thibault (under-70 kg), Coralie Godbout (under-78 kg), and Justin Lemire (under-73 kg) were all awarded bronze medals in their respective weight classes.
When asked to comment on Klimkait’s gold medal fight, coach Antoine Valois-Fortier heaped praise on his protégée, who defeated the 2016 Rio Olympic champion in the under-57 kg division.
“It was quite a battle! Jessica was methodical, determined, and courageous as she executed her game plan from start to finish. Her opponent put up a good fight, but she kept persisting and used her willpower to secure the victory,” acknowledged the coach about the Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist (-57 kg).
“We’re talking about two athletes who could be finalists at any tournament, and it was truly a top-level match. It was awesome to see Jessica perform like that.”
This is Klimkait’s second continental title, following her 2017 Panama City triumph over Beauchemin-Pinard in the under-57 kg division. On Saturday, the two athletes faced off in the semi-finals, and Klimkait surprised Beauchemin-Pinard with an ippon after just 23 seconds.
The Quebec native bounced back in her final match of the day, defeating American Karlee Carrouth by ippon.
“We should never presume that Catherine and Jessica are the norm. These two athletes have left their mark on their sport, and seeing them perform at this level for so long—while maintaining the same drive to improve—is truly amazing and impressive.”
Charlie Thibault (-70 kg) wowed everyone with her bronze medal victory over Ecuador’s Cellinda Corozo.
“At only 18 years old, she’s a medallist at the Panamerican Senior Championships. That’s a great achievement—she beat girls with much more experience and showcased her talent and determination. She was only beaten by a Brazilian who has ten more years of international experience than she does,” commented the coach regarding last year’s junior world runner-up.
Coralie Godbout also climbed onto the third step of the podium in the under-78 kg category.
“She got off to a slow start, but turned things around with two convincing wins.”
On the men’s side, Justin Lemire (-73 kg) won his final match of the day by ippon against Peru’s Alonso Wong, securing the bronze medal. The 25-year-old athlete had seen his hopes for gold dashed after his defeat to eventual silver medalist Jack Yonezuka of the United States in the semi-finals.
“This is without a doubt one of the best days of Justin’s career,” stated his coach.
In the same weight class, Yanis Hachemi succumbed in his opening tussle against Maikor Yefri Louis Pierre of the Dominican Republic.
In the under-66 kg division, Julien Frascadore lost by ippon to American Ari Berliner in the bronze medal match and had to settle for fifth position. The Quebec native sustained an abdominal injury following one of his opponent’s manoeuvres and immediately threw the towel. Meanwhile, Luke Thomson ended his day with a 0-1 record.
Matteo Fantozzi (-60 kg) also suffered defeat in his first bout.
The final day of individual competitions will take place on Sunday.
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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada
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Patrick Esparbès
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