Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard could have moved on from the rigours of competitive judo.
A bronze medallist at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 who also won silver at the 2022 world championships, the 30-year-old has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and is on track for a specialized graduate diploma in taxation.
So why endure judo’s difficult two-year process to qualify for this summer’s Paris Games? Because she simply isn’t satisfied yet.
“I’m thinking about a medal, even the gold medal, I won’t deny it,” she said a few weeks before flying to Paris, where she will be the top seed in the 63-kilogram weight class.
“But the important thing is to focus on the right things. I was able to do that in Tokyo, where I also went for a medal. But after the bronze, I want more.”
Beauchemin-Pinard, from Saint-Hubert, Que., is part of a strong Canadian judo team heading to …