Priscilla Gagné wins silver medal at Para judo world championships

BAKU, Azerbaijan – Montreal-based Priscilla Gagné won the silver medal in the women’s 57 kilos on Tuesday at the Para Judo World Championships.

It was a historic performance for the 36-year-old, originally from Sarnia, Ont. For the first time at the Para judo worlds, the athletes were separated into two distinct categories based on their level of visual impairment to improve parity within the groups. Previously, Gagné had to compete against athletes with more sight than her.

In the J1 category, Gagné opened with a quick first-round win over Brazilian Larissa Silva, then beat American Liana Mutia in a hard-fought quarterfinal duel. In the semifinals, Gagné landed a waza-ari – the second-highest score – to eliminate Ukrainian Anzhela Havrysiuk .

“Priscilla was superb in her clashes against the American and against the Ukrainian, these two are definitely two of the best athletes in the category,” said Gagné’s coach Andrzej Sadej. “It was a great start to the day.”

Turkey’s Dondu Yesilyurt was the only entry to stop Gagné, silver medallist last year at the Tokyo Paralympics.

After a short medical break in the middle of the final, Yesilyurt came back strong to score a waza-ari on Gagné. This maneuver was ultimately enough to win.

“The Turkish judoka is a former weightlifter, which explains why she was so physically strong,’’ said Sadej. ‘’Priscilla worked hard, but her opponent was simply more dominant. It was not an easy duel and I believe Priscilla can be proud of herself.

“She was a bit disappointed initially with her result because she was aiming for the gold medal, but I think she was happy to get on the podium. It was a special competition and she proved that she is among the elite in her sport.”

In the same category, Christina Mowatt of Burnaby, B.C., was fifth after a loss in a bout for a bronze medal.

Competition continues Wednesday with Canadian Michelle Jorgenson in action.

With files from Sportcom and Judo Canada