Our guest is Canadian Judoka Jessica Klimkait. Jess grew up in Whitby, Ontario and followed in her brother Justin’s footsteps when she began to learn Judo at the age of four at the Ajax Budokan Judo Club, in nearby Ajax. Her former coach of 13 years was the club’s chief instructor Kevin Doherty; a two-time Olympian. At the age of 19 Jess moved to the Canadian Team Training Center in Montreal. She has been on Team Canada since 2014 where she competed in the 2015 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China finishing fifth in the 63kg division. In the same year, Jess competed in her first IJF World Tour event at the Zagreb Grand Prix before taking part at her first two IJF Junior World Championships. She established herself in the senior ranks in 2017 by winning gold at the Pan American Championships before earning her first Grand Slam podium when claiming bronze in Ekaterinburg. Jess became the second Canadian to win a world title in judo at the 2021 IJF World Championships in Budapest. In her Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, Jess won the bronze medal in the 57kg category, becoming the first Canadian woman to win an Olympic medal in judo. She is passionate about encouraging girls to take up combat sports, which she has found develops confidence and a body positive attitude. Jess also explains ways to reduce the drop-out rates of teenage girls in sport.

Host: Chris Stafford
Recorded: February 2, 2022

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