Canada’s Priscilla Gagne fourth in women’s judo in Paralympic debut

RIO DE JANEIRO — There were moments during Thursday’s bronze-medal bout that Priscilla Gagne couldn’t hear her coach Andrzej Sadej over the raucous cheers of the crowd.

The 30-year-old from Sarnia, Ont., lost to Uzbekistan’s Sevinch Salaeva in judo’s 52-kilogram category to finish fourth at the Paralympics, but the noisy crowd will be one big plus she takes from these Games.

“It’s pretty exciting to be in a venue with lots of kids, that was probably the most special part,” Gagne said. “After my second fight, all the kids who were so excited, and as soon as I acknowledged them they went bananas. It was cute.”

Just a couple weeks ago, there were fears of small crowds as only 12 per cent of tickets had been sold. But a campaign called #FillTheSeats, which has allowed schoolchildren the opportunity to attend events, helped see the judo venue nearly three-quarters full.

Gagne and her coach had prepared for the noise, and the probability she wouldn’t hear him.

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“We talked about that before that this would be a possibility, so we communicated strategy, every possible situation, so I knew what to do,” she said. “And you try to pick out your coach’s voice, and that’s almost the only voice you really (hear). . .everyone else just kind of blends in together, everyone else you just zone out.”

Elsewhere Thursday, the women’s wheelchair basketball team opened the Games with a 43-36 victory over Britain. The men’s team lost to Spain 80-46 later in the day.

In swimming, Abi Tripp of Kingston, Ont., was sixth in the S8 400-metre freestyle and Gord Michie of St.Thomas, Ont., was fifth in the S14 100 backstroke.

Canada’s goal at the Games is a top-16 finish in overall medals, a small increase over the 31 medals and 20th-place showing from four years ago in London.

Gagne, a silver medallist from last summer’s Pan American Games in Toronto, suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, a condition that narrows her peripheral vision field.

She began her day with a loss to Algeria’s Cherine Abdellaoui, but bounced back to defeat Ukrainian Liudmyla Lohatska by Ippon in the repechage round.

“I don’t mind losing when it’s really earned. So it’s a little disappointing the first (loss) for sure,” she said. “But this last one, I’m disappointed but (Salaeva) worked her butt off, we both did, and it was a mistake on my part, she was able to counter something. It was a good fight.”

The two met in a huge embrace after the bout.

“I told her ‘Congratulations,’ and she was super happy and super, super not wanting to let go of a hug, so I just kept hugging her,” Gagne said smiling.

“I have a couple of regrets that I could have done differently today, but all in all, you can’t let it destroy you,” she added. “You have an option, you can let it destroy you or you can use it as fuel to make you come back stronger or harder or learn from it more. I choose the latter option.”

Gagne made her Paralympic debut following a rocky few years that saw her break both her feet in the same bout in 2011. The injuries kept her off the mat for eight months.

Lori Ewing, The Canadian Press