Klimkait claims bronze in women’s judo

TOKYO — Jessica Klimkait was dealing with a mix of emotions as she slowly walked into a back hallway of the Nippon Budokan on Monday night.

She made history moments earlier when she beat Kaja Kajzer of Slovenia by waza-ari to win bronze at the Tokyo Games, becoming the first Canadian to reach the Olympic podium in women’s judo.

But Klimkait, her eyes bloodshot and fatigue evident after four bouts on the day, couldn’t hide her overall disappointment. The world champion in the under-57-kilogram division was reeling after coming up short of her ultimate goal.

“Right now I’m going to be emotional about missing that gold medal,” she said, her voice cracking at times. “But I think looking back I’m going to be proud of myself because I know the last two or three years mentally and physically have been extremely hard.

“I honestly don’t even know how I pulled myself through it. So I think I’ll just be proud of myself.”

Klimkait went to extra time against Sarah Leonie Cysique of France in the semifinals but lost by ippon when she was assessed a shido for a false attack. It was Klimkait’s third penalty of the bout, and it gave Cysique the victory.

The 24-year-old from Whitby, Ont., blitzed through her first two opponents on the day, advancing via ippon in under two minutes each time.

But Cysique did well to counter the Canadian, who maintained her aggressive style throughout the match. Klimkait can throw from a variety of positions, but her opponent was able to neutralize her.

Both athletes had two penalties in extra time, but Klimkait mistimed a grip attempt and it proved costly.

“When that fight ended it was just like blank space for me in my mind,” she said. “The realization didn’t catch up to me yet. I still was in the fight until I guess I stepped down the stairs (from the mat) and realized I was going into the bronze final and not the real final.”

Klimkait had less than an hour to refocus for the third-place match. She said she “sulked a little bit” after the defeat before concentrating on the task at hand.

“At the end of the day, I’m just happy that I was able to collect myself after that loss and come away with a medal,” she said.

Canadian Arthur Margelidon had a chance for bronze in the men’s under-73-kilogram category but settled for fifth place when he was submitted by Mongolia’s Tsogtbaatar TsendOchir.

“He got caught, he left his arm out, he got arm-barred,” said national team assistant coach Sasha Mehmedovic.

“It was not what he hoped for and not what he expected. He’s devastated.”