Judoist takes home national gold

It was the perfect ending to a perfect year.
Jared Catholique-Bruyere added the exclamation point to his phenomenal season by claiming the gold medal in the plus-81 kg division of the Juvenile category at the national judo championships in Toronto this past weekend.
The 16-year-old Fort Frances martial artist hadn’t lost since last year’s nationals, and in that time has pocketed a bushel of championships, including gold at this past February’s Canada Winter Games in Bathurst-Campbellton, N.B.
And he wasn’t about to let the taste of winning slip away in his ultimate test.
“It was awesome, and really very exciting,” said Catholique-Bruyere, who will have little time to recover as he hooks up with the Midget “AAA” Thunder Bay Northern Hawks for a tournament in Brandon, Man. this weekend.
“Being the number one seed going in, I felt a lot of pressure. Everyone was out to get me. They’re telling themselves, this is the guy that won the Canada Games. This is the guy who hasn’t lost all season. It felt good to get the job done.”
After receiving a first-round bye due to his seeding, Catholique-Bruyere faced a mountainous challenge in his second-round confrontation with Alberta’s Ben Noji, who at 115 kg was nearly 20 kg heavier than the hometown wrecking machine.
“He had a lot of muscle, but you could tell watching him fight that he tried only to use his strength the whole time,” said Catholique-Bruyere. “I just wanted to try and wear him out, and the rest I had from the bye helped.”
With the match scoreless and just over a minute left in regulation, Catholique-Bruyere used a maneuver that he said “just popped into my head” to execute a counter move, quickly turning it into a Wazari throw to score what would be the decisive points of the match.
The semifinal against Ontario’s Nedjo Sarance defined the term “sudden death,” as Catholique-Bruyere made a brilliant quick strike to pull off his favourite finishing move, a leg throw, and end the match only nine seconds in.
“I’ve fought Nedjo a lot in the past, and I know his weaknesses,” said Catholique-Bruyere. “He came on real quick, and I saw the opening and went for it.
“Nedjo’s pretty good,” he added. “I’m surprised how fast I put him out.”
The gold medal final was a rematch of the Canada Winter Games quarterfinal between Catholique-Bruyere and Patrick Knox of P.E.I., when the local athlete polished Knox off in 2:32.
But that was then, and this was now.
“He came out a lot stronger than he did at the Games,” said Catholique-Bruyere. “But he did the same moves he did there. He’d been using the same moves all day, in fact.”
With just over a minute to go, Catholique-Bruyere scored Wazari and with 53 seconds left, slapped a holddown move on Knox that brought about the end of the match and the beginning of his title reign.
“I was almost stunned when it was over,” he recalled. “There was no air conditioning in that building, it had been so hot in there all day, especially by the final. But I guess I just finally got him.”
Catholique-Bruyere’s chief judo instructor Chuck MacDonald said his pupil’s improved conditioning played a major role in him reaching the pinnacle.
“Jared’s been in good shape forever, but this year, he got into the best shape of his life,” said MacDonald. “He has such a dedication to his whole sport.
“There’s also the support he’s received from his parents,” added MacDonald. “Without them driving him all over the country, he wouldn’t have made it this far. As for the coaching staff, we taught him what he needed to know, and he took it from there.”
Catholique-Bruyere will have new mountains to climb this fall, as he moves up to compete at the International Judo Federation (IJF) level, featuring competitors 20-and-under who will all be vying for a shot to represent Canada at the world junior championships next year.
“I’m excited about IJF, especially since I’ve fought most of the guys already who are in IJF now,” he said.
“Now I’m just not sure if I’m going to fight in the under-90 kg or under-100 kg class. It’s been pretty difficult to keep my weight under 90, so I’ll have to see.”