Canadians are competing alongside Russians at the judo world championships

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Yesterday in Qatar, Canada’s Christa Deguchi captured her second world title in the women’s 57-kilogram weight class while Olympic medallist Jessica Klimkait took bronze in the same division. Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard (women’s 63kg) and François Gauthier-Drapeau (men’s 81kg) nearly added to the Canadian medal haul today, each falling just short of a bronze.

These results reflect Canada’s recent international success in judo, the Japanese martial art where athletes wearing heavy, bathrobe-style jackets grapple and try to throw their opponent down, pin them or force them to submit with certain holds.

Deguchi, 27, won gold at the 2019 world championships and at last year’s Commonwealth Games. Klimkait, 26, captured the world title in 2021 and took bronze in Tokyo that year to become the first Canadian woman to earn an Olympic judo medal. The next day, Beauchemin-Pinard won a bronze of her own, marking the first time Canada captured multiple judo medals at a single Olympic Games.

WATCH | Deguchi reaches top of medal podium in Doha:

Canada’s Christa Deguchi claims 2nd career world judo championship title

Christa Deguchi defeated Japan’s Haruka Funakubo Tuesday to claim gold in the 57 kilogram division at the IJF world judo championships in Qatar, Doha.

The current world championships in Doha are happening amid controversy. Judo’s world governing body decided to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete as “neutral” athletes, lifting the outright ban issued in response to the invasion of Ukraine. The move, which followed the IOC’s unpopular recommendation that individual Russian and Belarusian athletes be re-admitted to international sports under certain conditions, has proven contentious. Ukraine boycotted the world championships, and earlier this week organizers banned a group of spectators for wearing a Russian military symbol.

Seventeen Russian judoka were allowed to enter the worlds as neutrals after it was determined that they had not publicly supported the war. None have won medals so far.

Russia has traditionally done well in judo. If the results of the Soviet Union, the Unified Team and the “neutral” Russian Olympic Committee team are counted toward its total, Russia has won 46 Olympic medals since judo joined the program for the 1964 Games in Tokyo. That would put Russia in a tie for third all-time with South Korea, behind only Japan and France. The sport also means a great deal to Vladimir Putin, a judo black belt who was the honourary president of the world governing body until it stripped him of the title in the wake of the invasion.

The world championships continue through Sunday. Read more about Deguchi’s and Klimkait’s medal wins and watch highlights here.