Liubimovski's Gold Leads Nine-Medal Haul for U.S. Juniors in Ecuador
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by Bill Kellick
(Colorado Springs, CO) – Daniel Liubimovski (Staten Island, N.Y. / NYAC / Colton Brown Training Center) captured his fourth consecutive medal, and first gold, at the Junior Pan American Judo Championships on Wednesday in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Team USA won nine total medals in the junior competition and finished fourth in the team standings behind Brazil, Canada and host country Ecuador.
Liubimovski has now accumulated six medals at the Cadet and Junior Pan Am Championships. He won gold at the Cadet Pan Am Championships in 2023 and followed that up with a bronze medal in 2024. At the junior level, he has reached the podium in the previous three years, with a silver medal in 2023, a gold in 2024, and a bronze last year.
On Wednesday, Liubimovski defeated teammate Caedmon Haddad (Evergreen, Colo. / USA Judo National Resident Team) in the semifinals of the men's 100 kg competition, scoring a yuko (partial point) and waza-ari (half-point) to secure his spot in the finals. In a closely contested gold-medal match, Liubimovski scored a yuko against Yehor Paladii (CAN) for the match's only point and reached the top step of the podium. Haddad would rebound from his semifinal loss and join Liubimovski on the podium by beating Richard Santos (ECU) in his bronze-medal match.
World No. 1 at 60 kg, Jonathan Yang (Los Angeles, Calif. / NYAC / USA Judo National Resident Team), upgraded his bronze medals from the past two Junior Pan Am Championships to a silver medal this year. Yang defeated Maximo Alamo (ARG) in the quarterfinal by scoring two waza-aris, then won by shido (penalty) over Vinicius Oliveira (BRA) to reach the final against world No. 5 Eduardo Sagastegui (MEX). This time, Yang was the victim of shidos, incurring his third and disqualifying penalty to give the gold medal to Sagastegui.
Two U.S. athletes, Rhadi Ferguson, Jr. (Tampa, Fla. / High Noon Judo) and Nicholas Zadvinskiy (Staten Island, N.Y. / Cranford JKC) medaled at both the Cadet (U17) Pan Am Championships on Tuesday and the Junior (U20) Pan Am Championships on Wednesday.
Ferguson, Jr., picked up her second cadet silver medal on Tuesday and followed up with a bronze-medal performance on Wednesday in the women's +78 kg division. After defeating Olivia Wisniowski (CAN) in the quarterfinals, Ferguson, Jr., lost by ippon (instant win) to world No. 10 Ana Soares (BRA) in the semi-final round. She regrouped to score two yukos and two waza-aris against Brisley Ordonez (ECU) to earn the bronze medal.
Zadvinskiy also won a cadet silver medal on Tuesday and a junior bronze medal on Wednesday in the men's 90 kg division. Following a loss to Matthew Molchanov (CAN) in the quarterfinals, Zadvinskiy advanced through the repechage with a win over Jeremy Campos (ECU) and then scored a victory by ippon over Mathias Estrada (CRC) to secure a bronze medal.
A gold medalist in the 2024 cadet competition, Daniel Shulgin (Philadelphia, Pa. / Yawara Force) notched his second straight junior bronze medal in the men's 81 kg action on Wednesday. Shulgin won by ippon in the quarterfinals against Thiago Ferrari Gonzalez (URU) and then lost by yuko to eventual gold medalist Silas Costa (BRA) in the semifinals. He regrouped to defeat Valentino Flores (PER) on penalties to claim bronze.
Chloe Williams (Stafford, Va. / High Noon Judo), a cadet bronze medalist last year, captured a junior bronze medal this year in Ecuador. She dominated her quarterfinal match against Antonia Munoz (CHI), scoring a waza-ari and three yukos, then lost by penalties in the semifinals against Clarisse Vallim (BRA). In an all-American bronze-medal tilt, Williams won by ippon over teammate Chrystal Monthe Noussi (Fort Worth, Texas / Fort Worth Judo Club).
No stranger to the podium at the Pan American Championships, Emily Jaspe (Hialeah, Fla. / Ki-Itsu-Sai National Training Center) won her sixth career medal on Wednesday, a bronze in the women's 63 kg division. Jaspe, the world No. 3, won cadet gold in 2022 and cadet silver in 2023. At the Junior Pan Am Championships, she had previously won bronze in 2022 and 2023, and gold in 2024. After losing her quarterfinal match on Wednesday to eventual gold medalist Manuela Maia (BRA), Jaspe responded with three straight victories by ippon to win the bronze medal. She defeated, in succession, Delfina Gonzalia (ARG), Maria Cruz (MEX) and Noilyn Aguilar Bravo (CRC).
Rounding out the seven bronze medal athletes was first-time Pan Am Championships competitor Iya Sadanchikova (Pahoa, Calif. / San Jose State University Judo) in the women's 48 kg competition. Sadanchikova dropped her quarterfinal match by ippon to Sarah Mendes (BRA), then won by yuko in the repechage over Nayla Burzio (ARG) before defeating Carmen Ferrin (ECU) by ippon in the bronze-medal contest.
Top eight and U.S. junior results are as follows:
Men’s 60 kg
1. Eduardo Sagastegui (MEX)
2. Jonathan Yang (Los Angeles, Calif. / NYAC / USA Judo National Resident Team)
3. Maximo Alamo (ARG)
3. Vinicius Oliveira (BRA)
5. Roman Semyrozum (CAN)
5. Estevan Maldonado (ARG)
7. Derian Luna (ECU)
Women’s 48 kg
1. Laura Vasquez (ECU)
2. Sarah Mendes (BRA)
3. Maria Valencia (CHI)
3. Iya Sadanchikova (Pahoa, Calif. / San Jose State University Judo)
5. Carla Patricia Leon (PER)
5. Carmen Ferrin (ECU)
Men’s 66 kg
1. Vincent Roberge-Poitras (CAN)
2. Eliandre Berriault-Trembley (CAN)
3. Adrian Lapaix Ramirez (DOM)
3. Caua Schramm (BRA)
5. Liam Kesler (San Jose, Calif. / CJ Judo)
5. Jhordan Vanegas (COL)
7. Jose Sebastian Perez Saldivar (MEX)
7. Alejandro Cano S (CRC)
Women’s 52 kg
1. Rafaela Rodrigues (BRA)
2. Renata Vasquez (ECU)
3. Rima Bourihane (CAN)
3. Nicole Marques (BRA)
5. Madison Nguyen (Sunland, Calif. / Los Angeles Tenri Judo Dojo)
5. Sofia Gonzalez Guillen (ECU)
Men’s 73 kg
1. Lowan Le Bris (CAN)
2. Jose Gonzalez (ECU)
3. Fahd Fithane (CAN)
3. Alfredo Valdivieso (ECU)
5. Xavion Johnson (BAH)
5. Jose Tiago Filho (BRA)
7. Yohel Guzman (CRC)
7. Domenico Ternullo (Lynn, Mass. / Pedro's Judo Center)
Women’s 57 kg
1. Hilary Lam (PER)
2. Larissa Menezes (BRA)
3. Hayden Thibeault (CAN)
3. Frida Maya (MEX)
5. Laurence Gagnon (CAN)
5. Jimena Arce Lacayo (CRC)
7. Lissette Arroyo (ECU)
Also Competed: Ellianna Abbott (Rayne, La. / Colton Brown Training Center), 0-2
Men’s 81 kg
1. Silas Costa (BRA)
2. Artem Neyolov (CAN)
3. Alem Yuma (ARG)
3. Daniel Shulgin (Philadelphia, Pa. / Yawara Force)
5. Octavio DeOliveira (Lynnfield, Mass. / Pedro's Judo Center)
5. Valentino Flores (PER)
7. Thiago Ferrari Gonzalez (URU)
Women’s 63 kg
1. Manuela Maia (BRA)
2. Carla Van Zyl (CAN)
3. Emily Jaspe (Hialeah, Fla. / Ki-Itsu-Sai National Training Center)
3. Ingrid Choco (COL)
5. Noilyn Aguilar Bravo (CRC)
5. Uma Jazmin Valdez (ARG)
Men’s 90 kg
1. Joao Pedro Canello (BRA)
2. Matthew Molchanov (CAN)
3. Nicholas Zadvinskiy (Staten Island, N.Y. / Cranford JKC)
3. Jhon Caicedo Sinisterra (COL)
5. Mathias Estrada (CRC)
5. Tomas Quinteros (ARG)
7. Jeremy Campos (ECU)
Women’s 70 kg
1. Heydi Santillana (COL)
2. Clarisse Valim (BRA)
3. Charlie Thibault (CAN)
3. Chloe Williams (Stafford, Va. / High Noon Judo)
5. Sophia Camara (BRA)
5. Chrystal Monthe Noussi (Fort Worth, Texas / Fort Worth Judo Club)
Men’s 100 kg
1. Daniel Liubimovski (Staten Island, N.Y. / NYAC / Colton Brown Training Center)
2. Yehor Paladii (CAN)
3. Matheus Silva (BRA)
3. Caedmon Haddad (Evergreen, Colo. / USA Judo National Resident Team)
5. Marko Figueroa (CHI)
Women’s 78 kg
1. Dandara Camilo (BRA)
2. Odeth Casierra (ECU)
3. Emiliya Aliyeva (CAN)
5. Ana Robledo (ARG)
Also Competed: Allison Miller (Marion, Ind. / Marion PAL Judo), 0-2
Men’s +100 kg
1. Patricio Urra (CHI)
2. Jose Miguel Brache Jarquin (DOM)
3. Merab Iokhmusashvili (CAN)
3. Luis Antonio Oliveira (BRA)
5. Gabriel Wilson (Newalla, Okla. / USA Stars Foundation)
Women’s +78 kg
1. Ana Soares (BRA)
2. Frederique Lavigne (CAN)
3. Olivia Wisniowski (CAN)
3. Rhadi Ferguson, Jr. (Tampa, Fla. / High Noon Judo)
5. Kharla Casas (CHI)
5. Brisley Ordonez (ECU)
