The training session at the Otoshi Judo Club in Riverview was anything but usual Monday evening. After all, it’s not every day that the session is led by an Olympic medalist and a world champion.
The Otoshi club is one of a handful of lucky ones who were selected across Canada to welcome Christa Deguchi, gold medalist at the last Olympic Games in Paris (in the 57 kg category).
There were nearly 200 judokas of all ages and levels to welcome him, including Mahée Savoie, who recently announced his retirement from competition to concentrate on his studies.
Sophie Kucerova-Hard showed a big smile as she signed a poster of the champion.
The 17-year-old athlete says Christa Deguchi is a true role model for her.
“You can see that she has worked very hard all her life since the age of 3,” says the judoka from Dieppe.
“It’s a great model for learning new techniques and improving. I met him this morning (Monday) and he is a very kind and friendly person. She explained a few things to me and it was really good.”
Even though she has only been practicing judo for two years, the future RCMP recruit already has a blue belt.
“I didn’t have any sports apart from swimming and decided to try judo after the pandemic. I really liked it, so I continued. I chose Otoshi because it is a very sporting and very competitive club,” she says.
“I would love to make it to black belt.”
A little further away, the Olympic champion never stopped putting her name on all kinds of objects.
The one who divides her time between Canada and Japan said she was happy to visit the Maritimes for the first time.
“I am mainly here to have fun with young people. I didn’t know how people would receive me, but I have to say it’s great. All the people are very nice to me. In fact, I’m very honored to be here.”
She took the opportunity to teach the group different things, including her favorite fighting technique.
“At the moment, it’s mostly for fun. Perhaps I will be able to come back another time to offer more serious teaching.”
The 29-year-old Olympian recalls the importance for athletes to connect with people, especially younger people.
“Growing up in Japan, I had several role models who inspired me. I think young people need these heroes. It allows them to have specific goals and to see that it is possible to succeed and reach the Olympic Games,” specifies the one who won the world championship in 2019 in Japan.
“My goal was to qualify for the Tokyo Games in 2020. Since I didn’t succeed, I didn’t know if I wanted to continue doing judo. But I really wanted to win a gold medal at the Olympics.”
She says she is proud to inspire a new generation of judokas today.
“It’s not the result that’s important, it’s the path we take to get there. The main thing. It’s about always giving our best.”
For Denis Collin and Stéphane Bérubé, co-founders of the Otoshi clubs in Dieppe and Riverview, the presence of an Olympic champion is priceless.
“We feel really lucky to have someone like Christa come visit us as part of her Canadian tour,” says Collin.
His colleague believes that this type of event has a definite impact on the development of judo in New Brunswick.
“We see that all the young people are full of energy, they are happy, they are happy to have the presence of a judo champion among us today. We have several young girls here who have admired him for several years. It’s a really special moment for them,” he says.
“Being able to welcome the first judo gold medalist in Canadian history to our club is truly an honor.”
