SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — It was a successful debut on the national stage for Shayna Perry.
She was one of three members of the Toshidokan Judo Club in Summerside to recently win medals at the Canadian open judo championships in Edmonton.
Perry brought home a silver medal in under-16 -42 kilograms.
“I was really happy because it was my first nationals and I did pretty good,” said Perry, who is from Charlottetown. “I was hoping to get a gold, but I got silver and that’s still pretty good for me because it was my first time.”
George Madumba of Summerside and Perry’s brother, Mikey Perry, also brought home medals.
“It was actually my best accomplishment in my third time going to nationals,” said Madumba, who earned a silver medal in under-18 -90 kilograms after winning bronze in his first two appearances. “I’m very happy.”
Mikey, competing in under-16 -50 kilograms, claimed a bronze medal. There were over 21 competitors in his division.
‘It was a good tournament and I liked it,” said Perry, who acknowledged one adjustment at the national level is competing against bigger and stronger athletes. “Fighting new people was good because you get better competition. Winning bronze up there is pretty good.”
Two other TJC members – head coach Chris Townsend and Jenna Condra – also competed. Townsend, who was competing in his final competition, was fifth in masters -81 kilograms while Condra had a 10th-place showing in under-16 -46 kilograms.
“They are all great kids and all have great work ethics,” said Townsend.
Coach’s Comments
- TJC head coach Chris Townsend comments on medal winners:
- George Madumba – “The last four years he has started coming into his own. He’s a two-time Elite 8 silver-medallist. He faced tough competition in -90. The kids are big, strong and men really but they are boys. George is very technical.”
- Mikey Perry – “You couldn’t ask for a better athlete. He won Canada Games bronze, moved up a weight division from his last time at nationals, going from -46 to -50, so it’s been a growing year for him.”
- Shayna Perry – “There were six competitors in her pool and a lot of her fights went the distance, so it was a good solid day for her.”
Big summer
For Madumba, it was the start of a busy summer as he is excited to begin high-performance training in Toronto on July 4
“We have a good friend named Josh Hagen and he comes down to run a camp at the end of August and he’s a high-performance coach,” explained Madumba. “I was talking to him and I was like, ‘I would like to get some high-performance training in this year.’
“He was like, ‘You can come down to my club and I’ll help you out.’”
This is all part of Madumba’s commitment to realize his ultimate dream.
“My No. 1 goal is to hopefully go to the Olympics,” said Madumba, who has a short-term goal of hoping to compete internationally for the first time next year. “It would be a lot of fun to represent Canada to fight on the international level.
“I have met so many friends throughout the country and I would like to meet so many more people through this amazing sport.”
Canada Cup
The Perrys have had little time to rest since the nationals as they have been training for this weekend’s Canada Cup in Montreal.
“It’s the same idea (as nationals), hope for the best and I hope to have more good fights,” said Mikey.
Shayna added the Canada Cup is “a really big tournament” for her.
“It’s a big step to get to higher tournaments and levels,” said Shayna. “It’s kind of scary like nationals was, but I’m going to go there and do my best.”
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