Madumba, Hardy, Hetherington win medals

Team P.E.I. members George Madumba, Kent Hardy RJ Hetherington won medals at the national open judo championships in Calgary recently. Madumba, a member of Summerside-based Toshidokan Judo Club (TJC), won bronze in the under-18 -90-kilogram category. Hardy and Hetherington, who both train with the Rikidokan Judo Club in Charlottetown, also won bronze in the Newaza -81-kilogram class and under-16 -45 kilograms, respectively. Madumba posted a record of 3-1 (won-lost) en route to winning his second bronze in a row at nationals.

“George looked great out there, and against the top seed in the division he gave him a good fight,” said Chris Townsend, coach of the TJC.

Three other athletes – Sebastian Nash, Ellen Gillis and Kris Lafrance – also represented the TJC on the national stage. Nash, meanwhile competed in two divisions. He had a fifthplace finish after going 1-2 in the under-18 plus-90-kilogram group, and was 0-2 in under-21 -100 kilograms.

“(Sebastian) had a great showing in a division where the competitors are much larger,” said Townsend.

Gillis was seventh in the under-18 plus-70-kilogram class. “Ellen looked strong going 1-2,” noted Townsend.

Lafrance, who won his first two fights, finished with a 2-2 record en route to a ninth-place showing in under-16 -66 kilograms.

“Kris did exceptionally well,” noted Townsend. “He performed beyond expectations.”