Jannessa Keays (far right) proudly holds up her bronze medal. (Submitted/ Robyn Keays)

By Nigel Maxwell

Martial Arts

P.A. judo athlete wins bronze at Pan-American championships

Apr 12, 2022 | 12:00 PM

Prince Albert’s Jannessa Keays has returned home from the Pan-American Oceania championships with a shiny, new bronze medal.

The 18-year-old had four women in her category and had a total of two matches. After losing her first match to an athlete from Brazil, Keays rallied and won her second against Peru. Keays told paNOW the fighting styles within the Americas is all pretty equal, and there is not as much of a gap compared to Europe.

“I think within fighting styles, the Brazilians definitely have more of a winning kind of mindset, and are more intense compared to everyone else,” she said.

Last month Keays helped represent Canada at the Coimbra Junior European Cup 2022 in Portugal. She had two matches and lost both. Comparing the two events, Keays said she felt her fighting performance in Peru was definitely better.

“I definitely thought more during my fights and felt more calm compared to feeling scrambled or frantic,” she explained.

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Keays added she was also harder on herself after Portugal, with respect to training, and fine tuned her techniques to make sure she was in the best form to win.

“I think my performance in Europe fueled my want to perform better in Peru,” she said.

(Submitted/ Robyn Keays)

As a result of how she did in Peru, Keays is now ranked 17th in the world among over 78 Junior women.

This upcoming weekend, Keays is on the road again, competing in the Pacific International in Richmond, B.C. She’ll then compete at Nationals in mid-May.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell