Canmore judo star Erin Morgan proved her mettle on the international judo scene with a bronze medal performance on Sunday (Sept. 21) at the Tampere European Cup event in Finland.
The result is yet another stepping stone in a promising career for Morgan, who was one of three Canadians to medal at the competition.
“Medalling at this level is a relief and it sets me on a good path towards my goal of representing Canada at the Olympics,” Morgan said.
The path to bronze wasn’t an easy one for Morgan, 20. In the under 48-kilogram category, she made short work of her first opponent, Daine Cordero Gimenez of Spain, locking her in an arm bar less than a minute into the fight for the win.
In her second match, she faced Elizaveta Stepanova of Russia, but lost on points to her opponent. In a third match, she faced hometown favourite Tea Laakkonen, and even though the crowd was clearly against her, Morgan managed to win on points.
Smelling victory, her bronze medal match was the shortest of the competition, as she arm-barred opponent Olga Timofeeva of Russia from a triangle choke hold for the win in less than 30 seconds.
Morgan’s stock has risen on the Canadian scene since her gold medal at the U21 Canadian Judo Championships last year. She’ll now train in Strasburg, France for a month before a world cup match in Sweden, followed by matches in Montreal and Toronto.
“After that, I will go back to work in Calgary because I’ll be broke and I’ll start saving money again so I can compete in Belgium and Bulgaria in February,” Morgan said.
Morgan first entered the sport when she was eight years old, training alongside her parents, who run a local judo club. She joined the Alberta provincial team in 2009, and has earned two bronze and one gold medal at Canadian nationals.
Canadian Audree Francis-Methot won silver in the under 48-kg category, and Youssef Youssef of Ontario won gold in the under 60-kg class.
More than 100 million people in more than 200 countries practice judo. Japanese for “the gentle way,” the sport uses balance, timing and strategy as judoka use a variety of throwing and grappling techniques.
