Valois-Fortier wins judo Grand Prix gold in Mongolia
Feature photo: Valois-Fortier in action (IJF Media by G. Sabau)
Olympic judo medallist Antoine Valois-Fortier was golden at an International Judo Federation Grand Prix on Saturday, taking the 81kg title in Mongolia over Hungarian opponent Attila Ungvari.
Penalties against Ungvari proved costly for Hungary in Ulaanbaatar, where Valois-Fortier took advantage to win gold. The Canadian will remain in the Mongolian capital to train ahead of the Tyumen Grand Slam in Russia, according to IJF.
Valois-Fortier told IJF News that he wasn’t thrilled with how the final played out but the result was a correct and “that is a positive.”
Antoine Valois-Fortier (second from left) is golden in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on July 4, 2015 (Photo: IJF Media by G. Sabau).
“My performances are as important as my results now leading up to the World Championships and these events are a good guide of how my preparation is going.”
Ranked second in the world in his weight class, Valois-Fortier’s schedule won’t allow him to compete at the TO2015 Pan American Games, however, Judo Canada will still field a very strong team that includes two of the top women in the world in Kelita Zupancic (no. 4 in 70kg class) and Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard (no. 8 in 57kg).
