New Brunswick experienced a prosperous afternoon on Wednesday, with a harvest of three medals, including that of 13-year-old judoka Marisol Savoie at the Canada Games presented on Prince Edward Island. Florist Dominique Richard and judoka Egan McLean managed to climb to the third step of the podium.
Savoie, also eligible for the 2027 Games, thus obtains the second gold medal in the province after that of last week of the duo of gymnasts composed of Dexter Richard and Eric Davis, on the trampoline.
In the under 44 kilo final, the young Acadian from Moncton got the better of Quebecer Maya Roy.
“I lost my first match against her earlier in the day by disqualification, says Mahée Savoie’s younger sister. I had promised myself to take my revenge in the final. I knew I could beat her because I had already done it in other competitions.
Marisol Savoie could add another medal on Saturday in the team competition.
“We have a good team, so we will try to get on the podium,” she added.
Meanwhile, Egan McLean of Quispamsis beat Manitoba’s Braydin Nguyen 10-0 in the bronze medal game in the under 60 kg category.
Two other judokas came very close to achieving the same feat, Noah Cyr, from Edmundston, in the under 66 kg category and Jacob Element, from Dieppe, in the under 55 kg category. In both cases, they lost their match for the bronze medal.
The judo team could add a few more medals on Thursday as Mahée Savoie, Brandi Langley and Dakota Sanzana, to name only these three girls, will be in action on Thursday.
Bronze for Richard
In fencing, 24 hours after Fredericton fencer Claire Han finished third, Dominique Richard of Shediac Cape followed suit in foil.
She earned bronze after losing 15-10 in the semifinals to eventual silver medalist Ellie Davies of Ontario. Earlier in the day, the 15-year-old easily beat Abby Bowles of Saskatchewan 15-1.
“I’m very happy with my semi-final,” said Richard. It was a close game. I did my best. I will now take part in the team event on Friday. I believe we are going to be competitive. The chances for another medal are good.”
On a humorous note, note that Dominique Richard started practicing fencing a little over four years ago after watching the movie Star Wars.
“I wanted to be a Jedi, so my parents signed me up for fencing,” she laughs. I was far from imagining that I was going to participate four years later in the Canada Games, let alone win a medal.
New Brunswick now has eight medals, two gold and six bronze. That’s just one less podium than in 2019, when the province finished the games with one gold, three silver and five bronze. Note that New Brunswick’s record at the Winter Games is 21 (4-7-10), a feat achieved in 1995 at the Grande Prairie Games.
