Team Canada closed out three days of judo competition at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games on Sunday with a gold and bronze, bringing its tournament total to four gold, two silver and one bronze, for seven total medals.
Competing at the Scottish Exhibition Campus (SEC), Canada was represented on the final day by Coralie Godbout (-78 kg), Kyle Reyes (-100 kg) and John Messe A Bessong (+100 kg).
World silver medalist Kyle Reyes of Brampton, ON received a bye into the quarterfinals before opening his tournament in the quarter finals with a win against Abdourahman Ceesay of Gambia.
After winning his quarterfinal, Reyes advanced to the semifinal winning against Georgios Kroussaniotakis of Cyprus and guaranteeing his chance to fight for gold.
In the -100 gold medal final Reyes met Max Gregory of Team England. Gregory missed out on the 2022 Commonwealth Games due to injury and was performing in front of a largely hometown crowd. Reyes was aggressive off the top and made quick work of his opponent and at 2:07 won by ippon to win himself and Canada a 2026 Commonwealth Games gold medal.
After the bout, and receiving his medal, Reyes spoke about getting silver at the 2022 Games, overcoming injury and the opportunity Glasgow represented.
"I really enjoyed competing here. The atmosphere, the crowd and the energy in the venue were incredible. Winning gold after everything I've been through makes this medal even more meaningful. It gives me confidence that I'm moving in the right direction," said Commonwealth Champion, Kyle Reyes.
Coralie Godbout (Saint-Charles-de Bellechasse, QC) received a bye into the quarterfinals, where she opened her tournament with a win against crowd favourite Shelley Ludford of England on points.
After defeating Ludford in the quarterfinal, Godbout advanced to the semifinal, where she lost to Australia’s Maria Swan. Following the defeat, she would move into the bronze medal match against Ishroop Narang of India.
Godbout worked to get the Indian judoka off balance and was strategic about her movements. Despite grappling back and forth, the match lasted and went into a golden score round where any point awarded would win. Godbout was successful and won the bronze medal. Having placed 5th at the Commonwealth Games in 2022, Godbout was thrilled with this 2026 result.
"This bronze medal means a lot to me. After coming so close in Birmingham and leaving without a medal, standing on the podium here will be really special. It wasn't my best day, and there were a lot of things that went wrong before the competition, but I stayed focused and kept fighting,” said Godbout. “I'm really grateful to my coach, Émilie Caron, for helping me stay calm and concentrate on what I needed to do. Of course, I always want more and believe I was capable of reaching the final, but I'm proud of how I responded and proud to bring home this medal for Canada."
Making his Commonwealth Games debut, Messe A Bessong opened the tournament with a win against Shah Hussain Shah of Pakistan in the round of 16 for the +100 kg weight class.
After victories over Shah in the round of 16 and Advancing to the quarterfinals against Gerard Takayawa of Fiji in the quarterfinal, Messe A Bessong advanced to the semifinal.
In a +100 kg semifinal, Messe A Bessong fought against Australian judoka Kayhan Ozcicek-Takagi. Messe A Bessong, who was at least a foot taller than the Australian, lost the semifinal bout in the golden score round and would fight for bronze.
In the bronze medal final, Messe A Bessong met Paula Monta from Tonga. In a bout where the crown was loud and boisterous, the Canadian judoka wasn’t successful.
With competition complete, Team Canada finished the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games judo tournament with four gold, two silver and one bronze, for seven total medals.
Canada's nine judokas competed across three days of competition at the Scottish Exhibition Campus, highlighted by strong Commonwealth Games performances and results.
The Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games concludes Sunday evening with the Closing Ceremony at the OVO Hydro.
Photo Credit: Antoine Saito