LAVAL Que.—The cream of the crop in Canadian karateka took turns climbing to the top of the podium and contributing to the medal tallies for their respective provinces on the final day of the National Championships in Laval, Que.

Quebecers Nicholas Patrick-Rivest, Lily-Rose Nolet, Yamina Lahyanssa, and Hana Furumoto-Deshaies along with Ontario’s Melissa Bratic and New Brunswick’s Kate Campbell all won their respective weight divisions in Kumite competitions.

“To be able to compete in front of these fans that are packed with so many of my friends and family was very exciting,” said Patrick-Rivest after winning the men’s -75kg division. “To win this division with so many great competitors was absolutely awesome. I’m very happy.”

British Columbia teen, Oonah Gamboa, delivered the upset of the day, winning the women’s senior Kata event where she topped Canadian stars, Daphné Trahan-Perreault (Quebec) and Claudia Laos-Loo (British Columbia).

“I’m so grateful and thankful to all of my opponents, and I’m really happy to win here,” said the 17-year-old Gamboa. “I didn’t see which way the arm went. I was so happy to be done and proud of my performance. There was lots of pressure and I know I still have lots to work on.”

It has been quite a year for the B.C. teen. Gamboa was British Columbia’s flag bearer at karate’s Canada Games debut in Prince Edward Island in February where she also won gold.

A spirited crowd filled Place Bell in Laval, Que., cheering on their provincial favourites as the nation’s best karatekas squared off on the National Championship Tatamis.

The senior athletes marked the end of a three-day sporting festival that witnessed more than 600 athletes and nearly 800 entries battle for national titles in a variety of Kata and Kumite groups and weight classes.

“This was our largest National Championships in our sport’s history, and it was a great success,” said Craig Vokey, president, Karate Canada. “Place Bell was an excellent venue and Karate Quebec was an excellent co-host as always. My thanks go out to all of the volunteers and officials, and congratulations to each these inspiring athletes on their performances.”

Team Ontario finished on top of the medal count with 26 golds, and 56 total podiums. Quebec captured 77 medals, but finished two shy of Ontario in gold. British Columbia was third at 50 with 13 victories.

The 2023 event also marked the first time North West Territories submitted a team.

Medal Count after Day 2

Rank    Province                      Gold     Silver    Bronze        Total

1             Ontario                             26          12              18                     56

2            Quebec                             24           26             27                     77

3            British Columbia           13           16              21                     50

4            Alberta                              5             4                8                      17

5            Newfoundland                 1             0                2                      3

5            Nova Scotia                      0             3                3                      6

6            New Brunswick               0            2                3                      5

Complete List of Day 3 Medallists

Kata Individual Female Senior

1 Oonah Gamboa (British Columbia)

2 Daphné Trahan-Perreault (Quebec)

3 Mélissa Baillargeon (Quebec)

3 Claudia Laos-Loo (British Columbia)

Kata Individual Male Senior

1 Yuki McNeil (Alberta)

2 Noa Bergeron (Quebec)

3 Matthew Gruitia (Ontario)

3 John Sawal (British Columbia)

Kumite Individual Female Junior +66kg

1 Kianna Charron (Quebec)

2 Anika Hollybow (British Columbia)

3 Victoria Tam (Ontario)

4 Shalin Ratti (British Columbia)

Kumite Individual Female Junior -66kg

1 Quincey Palmer (Ontario)

2 Ella Crowle (British Columbia)

3 Justine St-Jean (Quebec)

4 Caterina Iacob (Quebec)

Kumite Individual Female Senior +68kg

1 Lily-Rose Nolet (Quebec)

2 Christina Lemoyne-Elliott (Quebec)

3 Kiandokht Ghodsi (British Columbia)

3 Flavie Courtemanche (Quebec)

Kumite Individual Female Senior -50kg

1 Yamina Lahyanssa (Quebec)

2 Melissa Chan (British Columbia)

3 Mahta Gharaei (Ontario)

3 Kyla Fritz (Alberta)

Kumite Individual Female Senior -55kg

1 Hana Furumoto-Deshaies (Quebec)

2 Laurence Morin (Quebec)

3 Aida Roy Van Mierlo (Quebec)

3 Mégan Rochette (Quebec)

Kumite Individual Female Senior -61kg

1 Kate Campbell (New Brunswick)

2 Aurélie Étienne (Quebec)

3 Megan Laroche (Quebec)

3 Sophie Lawrance (Alberta)

Kumite Individual Female Senior -68kg

1 Melissa Bratic (Ontario)

2 Hilary Pond (New Brunswick)

3 Yasmine Mokarnia (Quebec)

3 Mariah Blunt (Alberta)

Kumite Individual Male Senior +84kg

1 Fernando Aguilera (British Columbia)

2 Noél Ngandui (Quebec)

3 Yahya Alem (Quebec)

3 Jesus Villena (Ontario)

Kumite Individual Male Senior -60kg

1 Karim Ebraheem (Ontario)

2 Yassin Miri (Quebec)

3 Zack Saito (British Columbia)

3 Diego Ruiz-Sillva (Alberta)

Kumite Individual Male Senior -67kg

1 Daniel Sanchez (Ontario)

2 Reda Shisseh (Quebec)

3 Noah Mossavat (Ontario)

3 Gari Zipenco (Ontario)

Kumite Individual Male Senior -75kg

1 Nicholas-Patrick Rivest (Quebec)

2 Hamoon Derafshipoour (Ontario)

3 Ilyes Abdoun (Quebec)

3 Ryan O’Neil (Nova Scotia)

Kumite Individual Male Senior -84kg

1 Alexandre St-Arneault (Quebec)

2 Émile Desrosiers (Quebec)

3 Mohammadreza Nikbakhsh (Ontario)

3 Sean O’Neil (Nova Scotia)

Complete Results: https://www.sportdata.org/karate/set-online/popup_main.php?popup_action=results&vernr=7273&active_menu=calendar

More information on the 2023 National Karate Championships can be found here. This event is financially supported by the Government of Canada, Laval Sportcité, and Gouvernement du Québec.

For more information on Karate Canada, please visit us at www.karatecanada.org.