Canada in Tokyo – Jessica Klimkait – Judo

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games is the culmination of an incredible four years for Canadian judoka Jessica Klimkait.

The 24-year-old goes into the -57 kg division event as one of the gold medal favourites. She claimed her first world championship title in Hungary last month.

With it came the sole qualification spot for Team Canada at the Games, yet the path has been anything but straightforward for Klimkait.

Her and compatriot Christa Deguchi have been at the top of the weight class for three years, jostling back and forth. It even looked like the two would have a one-off fight for the place in Japan, something for which Klimkait had been preparing for.

Deguchi switched her allegiance from Japan to Canada in 2017, and while Klimkait understands why, the two have never really spoken about the situation.

“We show up at the same competitions and that is pretty much it,” Klimkait explained. “Coming from a Canadian system, it is very different to the Japanese system. They pump out a new world champion every single year. It’s a different world of training.”

As a result, Judo Canada decided that the highest placed of the two at the 2021 World Championship would make the team for Tokyo.

It was an advantage for Deguchi. Not only was she world number one, but she was also the defending champion after winning the title in 2019. The event in 2020 was cancelled due to the pandemic.

While Whitby, Ont. product Klimkait was hardly an outsider at world number two, she had never beaten Deguchi in their previous fights but said that her rival’s title in 2019 lit a fire for her.

“It was an unconventional kind of circumstance ranked one and two in the world,” Klimkait said. “It piled on some pressure as I knew I really had to make it to the final to solidify my spot. I tried to focus on good judo rather than the result.”

As the competition progressed, the two Canadians looked on a collision course to meet in the final after both made progress through the tournament.

That was until Deguchi fell to defeat at the hands of Japan’s Momo Tamaoki in the semifinals, as Klimkait dispatched Kosovan Nora Gjakova.

“I was expecting to face my teammate in the final and I thought that would be the most clear way to qualify,” Klimkait said. “I couldn’t think about the Olympics at that point.”

If anything, with one job done, Klimkait was able to relax ahead of the final, ultimately defeating Tamaoki to take the crown by a golden score.

“Going into the final I knew that I had to win, it only felt right to me. We couldn’t both have lost to the same girl,” Klimkait said.

“You don’t get to fight for that title often. After the final I allowed myself to acknowledge what happened.”

It took a few weeks for the achievement to sink in, but now the world champion is confident ahead of the Games.

“I have to make sure I am healthy and rested and as long as I show up on the day I will have a good day,” she said.

“I’m familiar with all the other girls and we plan to leave it all on the mat.”

Not only did Klimkait come back from Hungary with Olympic qualification secured and a gold medal around her neck, but she also snagged a wristwatch as part of the sponsor’s prize. It’s something that when interviewed immediately after the medal ceremony, was underwhelming to her, to say the least.

“In my opinion, it is more of a masculine watch, I know that assumption is really wrong,” she laughed. “He put me on the spot a little bit. It was just seconds after they gave it to me.

“I had to kind of come up with something. Looking at it now it’s pretty cool, maybe I will give it to my dad.”

Here’s hoping that the luggage coming home with Klimkait from Tokyo is a lot more memorable.

Klimkait’s -57kg event takes place on July 26 at Nippon Budokan.

Listen to the full interview – https://iono.fm/e/1077282