It had been an incredible weekend of judo as Scottish judoka competed across two continents at the Montreal Panamerican Open and the Dutch Open Venray Tournament.
Scottish judoka delivered an impressive nine medals across the Montreal Junior Panamerican Cup.
Two golds were secured by Eden Heffernan (ProJudo) in the –73kg category and Arad Ghafoorirad (ProJudo) in the –90kg division, who produced a faultless day of judo, winning every contest by ippon from the Round of 16 all the way to the final.
Adding to the medal tally was Joe Buchanan (Sportif) in the –60kg category who claimed a superb silver medal, with Harriet Jones (ProJudo) also securing a silver medal in the –52kg category.
Rounding off the podium finishes were four bronze medals courtesy of Lexi Buchanan (Sportif) in the –48kg category and Jocelyn Callaghan (Destination Judo) in the –52kg division. Jack MacLeod (Garioch Judo Club) also secured a bronze in the –73kg category and the final medal of the day was awarded to Jaden Calder (Judo Club Esprit), who secured a hard-fought bronze in the –100kg category.
In the –60kg category, Rhys Clydesdale (Judo Club Esprit) narrowly missed out with a 5th-place finish, while Coen Gilbert (Sportif) also put in a solid performance to take 7th.
In the –63kg category, Sunny Doig (Just Judo Yoshin) delivered a determined performance to finish 7th, while Kevin Gordon (Hibari Kan Judo Club) delivered an impressive showing to finish 5th, just shy of the podium.
The following day saw judoka take to the tatami for the Montreal Senior Pan-American Cup 2025 where another four medals were added the weekend tally.
Daniel Pacitti (Tanoshii Judo Club) impressed with a silver medal in the –73kg division following some tough competition. He was joined by Jaden Calder (Judo Club Esprit) who secured his second bronze medal of the weekend in the –100kg category and Gregor Miller (Tayside JC) who also took bronze in the +100kg category. Rounding off the medals for the weekend was Sunny Doig (Just Judo Yoshin) who secured a bronze medal in the –63kg division.
There were some strong performances across the squad with 5th place finishes from Eden Heffernan (ProJudo), Ross Dempsey (Clyde Judo) and Jocelyn Callaghan (Destination Judo) and a 7th place finish for Harriet Jones (ProJudo).
Back across the pond in Europe another group of Scottish judoka took to the tatami at the Dutch Open Venray and Shenshu Adaptive & VI Tournaments where the weekend medal tally increased further.
Chris Murphy (Shettleston Judo Club), Ross McInnes (Zenkai Judo Club), and Jaden Stewart (Kanokwai Judo Club) secured gold medals in their categories and were joined on the podium by Soloman Rice (ProJudo) and Sean Allan (Castle Douglas Judo Club) who both impressed with a silver medal each. Amy MacDonald (Yamarashi Judo Club) added to the tally with a bronze medal of her own.
The afternoon saw judoka compete in the Shenshu Adaptive competition where a further six medals were awarded. Topping their division, Jaden Stewart (Kanokkwai Judo Club) secured a gold medal alongside James Gallagher and Liam Wilson (Aboyne Judo Club), with Liam later adding a bronze medal to his haul.
A silver medal finish from Ross McInnes (Zenkai Judo Club) and a final bronze medal from Solomon Rice (ProJudo) finished off the medal tally in the Netherlands.
Back on home soil, the National Training Centre was buzzing with activity, welcoming judoka from the Home Nations, Poland, and Germany alongside our Scottish athletes for an intense weekend of training, further reinforcing our commitment to delivering world-class opportunities for Scottish judoka.