Andrews wins bronze in Canada

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

The road to Paris has been paved with another bronze by Gisborne judoka Sydney Andrews in Canada over the weekend.

England-based Andrews placed third in the women’s 78 kilograms-plus category at the Panamerican/Oceania Senior Championships held in Calgary.

It follows her bronze at the prestigious Zagreb Grand Prix in Croatia last month.

She was the first New Zealander to medal at the GP and became only the second Kiwi to win a medal at the Panamericans, following in the footsteps of 2012 Olympian Moira de Villiers.

De Villiers, who won bronze in the u78kg division at the 2022 Panamericans, went one better in Calgary as the first New Zealander to make a final at the champs.

She lost to Brazilian Mayra Aguiar.

Gisborne Judo Club head coach Jason King said it was an “awesome” achievement by Andrews and de Villiers.

The Panamericans were merged with the Oceania champs last year, making it “way harder for us”, King said.

They went from fighting against Pacific Island nations and Australia to the top judoka from countries such as Brazil, Cuba, the United States and Canada.

Andrews went into Calgary ranked No.2 in her six-woman division.

“Her division was small but pretty stacked,” King said.

Andrews had a bye into Round 2, where she came up against four-time Olympic Games medallist and two-time world champion Idalys Ortiz of Cuba.

King messaged Andrews that her chance to beat a former Olympic champion “is now”.

But the experienced Ortiz threw the young Kiwi, then held her down for the win.

It put Andrews into a bronze medal bout against Venezuela’s Aramantha Urdaneta, who had beaten her twice in recent times.

The pair were locked a point apiece at the end of regular time but Andrews threw her in the golden score period for the win.

King said it was a great win and reemphasised that “Syd”  was “getting better and better.”

She earned 350 rankings points, which King thought would move her up from her current 24 status to just outside the top 20.

Andrews is also No.24 on the Olympic qualfiication rankings so was “pretty safe at the moment”.

King said with each nation allowed only one competitor per category at the Paris Olympics— and the likes of France having four judoka currently ranked better than Andrews, and some other countries with two players higher than her — he estimated Andrews was probably sitting somewhere around 16th.

Andrews is next in action at the Perth Oceania Open in November when she will reunite with King, who is one of national team coaches, and fellow GJC member Ella Kelsoe.  Former GJC member Lincoln Sycamore is team manager.

Andrews will then head to Japan to train and compete in the Tokyo Grand Slam.

Meanwhile, four Gisborne judoka are  heading over the Tasman this week as part of a Waikato Bay Judo development squad competing at the Queensland Internaitonal Open and Judo Australia National Schools Championships.

They are Cleo Parkin, Amelia Gibb, Mitchell Spriggs and Kelso.