Kyle Reyes takes gold at Panam Championships in Guadalajara

Canadian judoka Kyle Reyes once again climbed to the top of the podium in the U100kg category at the Pan-American Championships in Guadalajara on Friday. He doubled the Canadian team's haul after Kelly Deguchi snagged a bronze medal in U57kg competition on Thursday.

Reyes, who is ranked 30th in the world, was invincible, winning all three of his matches. He earned his fourth career Pan-American Championships medal today, but it was his first gold.

In Friday’s final round, he defeated Chile’s Thomas Briceno by ippon to earn the top honours.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve placed first, so I’m really happy,” said Reyes, who finished fifth at the Antalya Grand Slam two weeks ago. “The final bout was a little tougher than I expected, but I'm glad I was able to pull off the harai-goshi.”

Reyes began the tournament with a victory over Lewis Medina of the Dominican Republic, who received three penalties during their match. The 27-year-old then bested American Nathaniel Keeve by ippon in just 24 seconds to clinch his spot in the final and finish the day with a flourish.

“I waited for the right opportunities to present themselves and then I took advantage of them. I didn’t think my second bout would be so easy, but I got lucky and I’m really glad,” said the Ontarian, who previously defeated Keeve to win a bronze medal at the most recent Pan American Championships in November 2020.