Ottawa – Seven Team Canada judokas will take to the tatami at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The team includes Olympic bronze medallist Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard, world number one Christa Deguchi, her younger sister Kelly Deguchi, and 2024 World Championship silver medallist Shady Elnahas.
Beauchemin-Pinard will be making her third Olympic appearance, having won women’s -63kg bronze at Tokyo 2020 after navigating the challenging transition from the -57kg weight class in which she competed at Rio 2016.
In 2022, Beauchemin-Pinard won -63kg silver at the IJF World Championships for her first senior world championship medal. She added a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. After a difficult tournament at the 2023 World Championships in Doha, Beauchemin-Pinard took gold at the Grand Slams in Abu Dhabi 2023 and Tbilisi 2024. The 29-year-old is currently ranked second in the world in her weight class.
“I see the Paris Games as a logical continuation of my hard work over the last few years. I want to savour every moment leading up to the Games, whether it be the difficult training sessions, receiving my Olympic gear, or even the opening ceremony. My ultimate goal is to stay rooted in the present moment each step of the way, and to perform to the best of my abilities on the big day,” says Beachemin-Pinard.
Courtesy: https://olympic.ca/