Birthday girl seals double gold for Judo in unexpected match up
It was an exciting final day of competition, Aug. 10, that saw both the men’s and women’s British Columbia Judo teams top the podium. Today was Isabelle Harris’ 14th birthday and it only seemed fitting that she would seal the women’s team’s gold medal 3-2 over Alberta.
An unexpected weight-class move from the 57 to 63Kg by Alberta pitted Harris in a fight she thought she wasn’t going to have to do.
“(Harris) is really hard to throw and she always fights hard,” said Judo coach Aline Strasdin, who has been to the Canada Games seven times, while this is her second appearance at Western’s. “Isabelle is a green belt and her opponent is a brown belt but I don’t think they watched her fight this week because she is tough. It was so awesome to see her win it.”
Lots of credit went to the youngster Harris who showed great composure and strength to fight with little notice.
“I think (Alberta) were hoping for a little shock value,” added Judo BC Coach Bruce Kamstra. “They were probably thinking Isabelle wouldn’t be warmed up properly or prepared as well mentally. I was a little nervous but Isabelle showed a lot of grit today. I was really impressed with her composure and she pulled off a big, big win.”
To top off the night the men’s Judo team also took gold to wrap up Phase 1 of the Western Canada Summer Games. The BC men beat Saskatchewan 3-2 in the final.
“It’s double gold – girls and boys – and team BC judo got 15 medals,” adds Strasdin. “We’re pretty excited and we know that when we go back all we will be yelling is ‘Who rocks the house? BC rocks the house!’”
The match-up was 2-2 before Team BC’s last fight by Ario Nishimura.
“It didn’t go as well as I had planned but I made up for it in the end and won it with an ippon,” said Nishimura. “It feels really good (to win gold) and it will be great for my home club back home because a lot of the little kids look up to me.”
Although Judo is an individual combat sport it is apparent the importance of team dynamics and cohesion.