For a couple of Cloverdale kids, judo success runs in the family.
Starting with dad Jeremy Le Bris, as the kids’ first coach, he imparted his judo knowledge onto his two boys, Lowan and Ewen. After several years of training, the pair are making waves in Canadian judo.
Both of the Le Bris boys achieved recent success at the Canadian Judo Open Nationals. The tournament was held last month (May 23-26) in Montreal.
LOWAN
During the competition, held at the Pierre-Charbonneau Centre, 16-year-old Lowan captured another two gold medals. He fought in the Open Nationals in both the U18 and Seniors divisions in the under-66 kilogram weight class, winning both.
“After six matches in U18, Lowan got gold,” said Jeremy. “(He) also was awarded best U18 athlete of the tournament.”
On his road to gold, Lowan overcame a pair of fighters from Ontario. He defeated Andrei Philippe Manuel in his penultimate match and beat Shon Tansky in the gold-medal match—itself a repeat of the gold medal final at the Elite National tournament held in January in Edmonton.
“I had a well-formulated strategy for the final, and it worked out well,” said Lowan. “I wanted to keep moving throughout the bout, while also maintaining a certain distance from my opponent.”
Lowan used that constant movement to wait for an opportunity to “launch attacks” that would propel him to victory.
“By winning first place, Lowan got selected for Cadet Worlds,” noted Jeremy.
That competition will take place in Lima, Peru, from Aug. 28-31.
After taking the U18 title May 24, two days later he won the Senior competition and became the youngest athlete to ever win at that level, attaining the title at 16 years and two months old.
“Lowan competed in Senior where he had a great performance,” said Jeremy.
He had five matches that day, overcoming Sawyer Althouse, Eliandre Barriault-Tremblay, Daniel McCristall, Daniil Kremerman, and—in the gold—Quebec’s Frederic De Cardaillac.
“In the evening, during the yearly awards for Judo Canada, Lowan received the award for Best Athlete of the Year for the U18 category,” Jeremy added.
Because of his success in 2024, Lowan was also recently invited to participate in Judo Canada’s Olympic prep camp being held in Montreal with the Canadian Olympic team.
“This will help him to prepare for the Cadet World Championships at the end of August.”
EWEN
Ewen Le Bris, Lowan’s younger brother, also competed at the Canadian Judo Open Nationals. The 13-year-old fought in the U16, under-42 kilogram division.
Ewen participated in the Open Nationals under what Judo Canada calls an “Early Bloomer” designation. To qualify for a competition as an Early Bloomer, athletes must apply to Judo Canada and receive an exemption.
At the Pierre-Charbonneau Centre, Ewen ended up winning a bronze after competing in four matches in a field of 16.
“He lost in the semifinal against someone he already beat in the past,” Jeremy noted.
That fighter, Ontario’s Giorgi Kurashvili, went on to win gold.
“As an Early Bloomer, this is a really good performance,” Jeremy added.
