05/26/2026
The 2026 Canadian Open Championships took place at the Olympic Oval in Calgary Alberta from May 14th-17th, and had over 1,000 entries from all across Canada. Sheffield Judo Club was proudly represented by Tiale, Meihao, Vito, and Matthew. All four gave it their all with three of them stepping on the podium! 🤩
In U18 Tiale barely missed a bronze medal, finishing with a hard fought 5th place finish. The following day, Tiale regrouped and competed in her second division U21. She had an incredible day and made it all the way to the final where she finished the day with her first National Championships podium and an impressive well-deserved silver medal. 🥈
Meihao started her National Championships medal hunt in U18 and lost a close tough first round match against the current Pan American Champion. Meihao has trained hard this year with the Judo Ontario HP program and at the club. She showed her determination and training by winning her next 4 matches with 3 of them, including the bronze medal match, by ippon.🥉
Competing in U16 as an early bloomer, Matthew won his second medal as an U14 athlete in U16. Matthew had an exceptional year winning golds in 4 circuit-A tournaments. He had a slight setback with a broken foot at the end of February. Showing fortitude and a desire to compete, Matthew did what he could to continue to train while recovering. Matthew fought fantastic at the Open Nationals. Losing a close match in the semi-final, Matthew refocused and captured the bronze medal. 🥉
Vito competed hard in U16 and U21. While he didn’t reach a medal round or get the result he was hoping for, Vito has shown improvement in a tough weight category and has a bright future. 💪
Thank you to Clint for always being there and helping coach. Also, congratulations to Tatum for fighting awesome and winning a National silver medal! 🥈
Winning 3 medals at this National Championships is an improvement from last year and we’re looking forward to working hard to do even better next year! Congratulations not only to this year’s medalists but to the entire club (athletes, parents, and coaches) as everyone has a part in our athletes’ success. 🙌👏
