Burnaby’s Maximus Joe exited the Elite 8 Canada national championships in Montreal as the clear champ, leading a strong Burnaby Judo Club contingent.
Joe’s win, a 5-0 victory over Quebec’s Felix Bertrand in the under-18 50-kilogram division, was part of a four-medal weekend for the Burnaby club.
His route involved 10-0 wins over Will Abraini of Quebec and Asher Young of B.C.
Last November, Joe ventured to Toronto and captured gold at the Ontario Open. It was part of a three-province medal streak for the 2016 u16 champion, beginning with a gold at the Saskatchewan Open in October.
Supplementing Joe’s decision were silver medals for Ekatrina Danilkov and Emil Schenk, while Rakiia Lolieva cashed in for bronze.
Danilkov posted a 2-1 record, beating B.C.’s Lola Shearer and Quebec’s Marie Turmel before falling to Alberta’s Brynn Iwaasa in the u18 women’s 44kg final. For Schenk, the u18 men’s 66kg silver came following victories over Jean Coulombe of Quebec and Nathan Demaeie of Alberta. In the final, Quebec’s Yanis Hochemi prevailed 10-0.
Lolieva picked up bronze in the u18 women’s 48kg division, after placing third at last year’s open national championships.
With these results, the Burnaby club placed third in overall standings. The club is a provincial training centre for B.C., with provincial coach Jeremy LeBris.
