Ecaterina Guica began practicing judo at the age of five when her father opened a club. | Photos: Team Canada
The 21-year-old from La Prairie earned a place in the semi-finals after beating Gretter Romero from Cuba on Saturday, July 11. She then bested Angelica Delgado of the United States, which set her up for the final bout Saturday evening against fourth-ranked Erika Miranda from Brazil.
“I lost to her twice before, so I was trying to do something different and she caught me again,” Guica said after the hard-fought gold-medal fight, which she lost to Miranda.
Shortly after her family moved to Canada, Guica’s father Catalin, a three-time national champion of Romania, opened a judo club. Ecaterina began practicing the sport at the age of five. She won her first senior national title in 2013.
The Toronto 2015 Pan-Am Games run from July 10 to 26 at various venues around the city.