Athletes from the Kizuna Judo club of Pitt Meadows fought at the 2026 Judo BC Provincial Championships in Abbotsford on Feb. 7 and 8, and came away with numerous medals.
There were 14 athletes of various ages and skill levels competing against clubs from around the province.
Rei Hoshina (U10), Xander McLeary (U14, 50kg advanced) Luke Wishinski (U16, 55kg novice), and Kai Suda (U16, 46kg advanced) all brought home gold medals, after turning in dominant performances in their respective divisions.
The club’s Team BC athletes had medal results: Evelina Khazhevskaia (U16 advanced, 57kg bronze), Ian Kim (senior intermediate, 81kg bronze), Evan Lavides (U18 advanced, 55kg bronze), and Kai Suda won a provincial champion for the third consecutive year.
Some of the club’s junior athletes had success too, in addition to Hoshina and McLeary leading the pack with their provincial championship titles. Keigo Chen (U14 novice, 35kg) and Nick Oikawa (U12) both won silver, and Isabel Oikawa (U12) took bronze.
Kizuna Judo Club had a solid showing overall, with first-time participant Minjae Seo testing the waters of the senior novice 90kg category with two hard fought matches against a tough opponent from Langley Judo Club. Mari Maihara (U16 novice, 52kg) finished fifth, and Josie Harford (U16 novice, 63kg) fought hard.
The athletes were coached by Takeru and Ashley Nobeashi and Teya Maihara.
Next up for some of the Kizuna Judo athletes is the BC Winter Games in Trail on Feb. 25 to March 1.
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