EDMONTON – McKenzie Morgan’s face was split open at Judo Nationals, but the Canmore native grinded out top results and showed high-calibre training is putting the judoka on another level.
Morgan, 20, won two bronze medals at the national competition in Edmonton last week (May 17-19), but due to concussion-like symptoms after a head-to-head collision that left Morgan bloodied, his competition ended prematurely.
“It would have been nice to continue, but it is what it is,” Morgan said. “It’s better to be safe than sorry.”
The judoka is going to be re-evaluated in a few weeks, but for now, the sore fighter said he had the best results of his young career, which also helped Alberta make huge noise on a national level.
“Last year, I only won one medal in U21, so it’s even better to get a second,” Morgan said. “Some of my opponents, I had my best matches against them this weekend.”
Now living and training in Montreal with the national team, Morgan said since moving east in January and sparring with elite partners, it’s grown his judo game to another level.
“Getting the chance to train with them more often, I can develop more strategy and more plans for competition,” said Morgan. “I’ve been most benefited by spending more time around with [the national team]. I’m seeing things I didn’t see before and able to react better.”
At the national competition, Morgan, fighting in the -81 kilogram division (179 pounds), imposed new mental tactics and weapons on opponents.
On day one (May 17), the skilled competitor was in his first Newaza tournament, which showcases ground fighting.
“I think my ground work is one of my strong suits in judo, so I wanted to try it out and see how it was,” Morgan said. “I had fun and enjoyed myself.”
In Newaza, the first fighter to reach 20 points wins each bout and points are earned by securing different holds and techniques on an opponent. Morgan battled and defeated Brent Thompson from Manitoba in the first match, but lost to the eventual winner Vincent Marticotte from Quebec during the second. Morgan took out Saskatchewan’s Erza Lolonde to win the bronze medal.
On the second day (May 18), Morgan won his second bronze at nationals in the judo U21 division, despite a bloody head injury, where he cracked heads with Franko Carvajal of Quebec in his second match.
“There was two minutes left on the clock, I was holding him down and still bleeding, [next to my right] eye was gushing blood, his eye was gushing blood,” said Morgan, who won the match. “I went to medical [after] and they glued my eyed together and then I fought the [eventual] gold medallist [in the third match] and he beat me.”
Morgan finished his second day of bouts, but he felt foggy during the next day’s competition. Morgan was set to make another run at the podium in the senior division, but after winning his first bout, the judoka felt dizzy and reported to the medical team. He was stopped from competing any further due to concussion-like symptoms.
The tough 20-year-old will take a few days off, he said, and looks forward to getting back in the gym.
“I’m feeling better, but not 100 per cent,” he said. “I just need a little bit of rest and I’ll be back on the mat soon.”
Morgan is focusing his sights on the Canada Cup in Montreal next, which takes place in July.
After three days of Judo National competition, Quebec stood tall with 73 medals (20 gold, 20 silver, 33 bronze). Alberta was in second place with 49 medals (20 gold, 10 silver, 19 bronze) and B.C. finished third with 46 medals (12 gold, seven silver, 27 bronze).
With Alberta standing out with strong performances, such as from Morgan, Judo Canada national coach Alexandre Émond has witnessed the evolution of judo in Canada over the past few years.
“Alberta is especially standing out, winning half the medals in the girls’ categories, and the most gold medals overall today (May 19),” Émond said, in a press release.
