Less than five minutes came off the clock, but it took Jared Catholique-Bruyere years of hard work to gain his newfound title as the best young judoist in the country.
The Couchiching resident won three-straight matches yesterday afternoon, each one quicker than the last, en route to the gold medal in the 81 kg+ division of men’s judo at the Canada Winter Games in Bathurst-Campbellton, N.B.
Catholique-Bruyere, 15, earned all three of his 10-0 victories by scoring an “Ippon,” which is the version of throwing an opponent onto their back which carries the highest possible point value.
He defeated Patrick Knox of P.E.I. in 2:32 in his first match, then cut his labour time in the semi-final almost in half by finishing off Thierry Lemaire of Quebec in 1:28.
Saving the best for last, Catholique-Bruyere wiped out Nicholas Huyter of Saskatchewan in just 43 seconds to take his place atop the podium.
“We knew he had potential from when he was very young,” said Les Wiersema, coach at the Fort Frances Judo Club where Catholique-Bruyere has developed his skills over the past decade.
“He has a great work ethic, and he takes part in all the tournaments he can,” Wiersema added. “This can only be good for the club and the town.”
Catholique-Bruyere left no doubt through his performance over the past year that he would be a serious contender for a medal at the Canada Winter Games.
He collected titles at the St. Boniface Open in Winnipeg and at the Ontario Open in Toronto, before winning the Games qualifier in Ajax in December—beating his long-time nemesis and hometown favourite Mike Grunberg in the final.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
