Canada’s Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard put on a stellar performance at the world judo championships, clinching the silver medal in the under-63-kilogram weight class. Despite a valiant effort in the final bout, Beauchemin-Pinard fell short in extra time to Japan’s Haruka Kaju, who secured the victory with a pin for ippon in “golden score” sudden death.

This marks Beauchemin-Pinard’s second world championship silver, having also finished as a runner-up in 2022. The 30-year-old judoka from Montreal has had an impressive track record, winning bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, and the 2019 and 2020 Pan American championships.

Throughout the competition, Beauchemin-Pinard showcased her skills by defeating opponents such as South Africa’s Jasmine Martin, Slovenia’s Kaja Kajzer, Mongolia’s Enkhriilen Lkhagvatogoo, and Brazil’s Rafaela Silva en route to the final. While three of her wins came by ippon, she faced a tough challenge against the undefeated Japanese star, Kaju.

Reflecting on her performance, Beauchemin-Pinard expressed both disappointment and pride. “It’s still really fresh and I think it’s going to take me a few more days to digest this defeat, because I felt I could have beaten [Kaju],” she said. Despite falling short of the gold, she acknowledged her achievement, stating, “I’m thrilled with my result. I felt like I’d lost the gold rather than won silver, but as the day went on, I realized that I had put in a great day’s fighting.”

Meanwhile, in other competition, Francois Gauthier-Drapeau of Alma, Quebec, faced a tough challenge in the under-81 kg category, losing his first bout to Zaur Dvalashvili of Georgia.