Barbados dominated the 17th International Judo Tournament, gaining 17 gold medals among an overall total of 50 medals to retain the title at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre last Saturday.
The Bajan judokas also grabbed 17 silver and 16 bronze medals, while Guadeloupe and Curacao earned six gold medals each. Martinique collected five gold medals, with both Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago gaining two gold medals.
The gold medallists for Barbados were Asa Weithers, Ria Greene, Tiara Parris, Malachi Desir, Kodi Brathwaite, Jason Watson, Dominique Mercer, Rory Morris, Tai Wood, Christopher Greene, Tisha Brathwaite, Natalia Applewhaite, Kristopher Paige, Melvin Terrence, Jean-Pierre Pilgrim, Liam Boyce and Ashley Green.
This year’s tournament theme was Judo No Limits, and featured 114 athletes from six participating countries.
The competition among the judokas, who displayed a range of techniques and deliberate skills was extremely keen, resulting in 95 per cent Ippons overall. This high level of competition was evident in both the senior and junior weight categories.
The Ippon trophies were awarded to Yoni Dragin (Guadeloupe) among the males, and Livenska Tooy (Martinique) among the females.
Following the tournament, a Caribbean Judo Association training camp was held the next day, focusing on the rudiments of competition techniques execution.
The silver medallists for Barbados were Khalil Jessamy, Kera Marshall, Raiden Lee, Amma Small, Ronico Marshall, Jade Best, Kayla Batson, Gabriel Sealy, Jaheem Jordan-Fenty, Ajani Edghill, Tristan Nightengale, Dario Rice, Milan Puckerin, Tariq Oderson, Joshua Morris, Michael Bend and Joshua McDonald.
Barbadians bagging bronze medals were Anaiah Clarke, Jonathan Paige, Aria Lynch, Syuri Branch-Dash, Kayla Thompson, Sa’ari Green, Adam Mehter, Aziz Mehtor, Nathan Delaney, Dominic Harrison, Deann Walton, Zarell Harding, Zane Kirton, Christianne Gibson, Kristina Clarke andKamran Moseley. (EZS/PR)