SHOP
Carla Van Zyl (Hart Judo Academy) had a lot to celebrate late Thursday at the Junior Pan-American Cup in Montréal. For one, the British Columbian had defeated several opponents who had gotten the better of her in the past. But even more importantly, she had stepped onto the top of the podium for the very first time as a junior.
In the under-57 kg final, Van Zyl was pitted against Madeleine Birri of Great Britain. The Canadian quickly took control of the fight, scoring a waza-ari 90 seconds into the match. She then sealed her opponent’s fate a minute later by once again throwing her to the ground.
“I’m always going for gold. I always aim as high as possible. I knew [Birri] was strong physically. She beat me last year, so I was looking forward to fighting her again, so she could see how much I had improved. I did what I came here to do, and it worked,” gushed the gold medallist.
As Van Zyl exited the tatamis, several fans were cheering for her and celebrating her win. The athlete from Prince George therefore seized the opportunity to mingle with the crowd.
“I’m so proud of this gold medal. I’m just starting out as a junior, and I want to compete at the World Juniors, so this is a step in the right direction. Hearing the crowd cheer for you is the best feeling in the world. It’s incredible,” she added.
Early in the day, the 17-year-old judoka defeated Aleksandra Dudko of Great Britain and Danielle Pelker of the USA. She then edged out Mexico’s Frida Maya in the semi-finals to claim her spot in the ultimate showdown.
“I wanted to take it one bout at a time, and my objective was simply to give it my all. Frida has beaten me twice recently, so I absolutely wanted to win this time. It was a very important win for me.”
The gold medallist will be aiming for another podium finish this weekend when she competes in the cadet division on Friday.
November 15, 2024
Written by: Judo Canada (Judo Canada News)
