Steveston Judo standout Ian Ryder has his first gold medals in Europe representing Canada.
The 19-year-old produced a pair of victories on Saturday to capture the -100 kg category at the Vejle Open in Denmark.
“It's good for my confidence. I adopted a more conservative style because I scored quickly in my two fights. I wanted to stay focused and fight smart,” said Ryder who moved to Montreal early last year to be work out of Judo Canada’s national training centre.
The McMath graduate then easily captured gold on Sunday in the U21 division of the same weight class — defeating three opponents en route to being on top of the podium.
“Ian dominated his three opponents and easily won the gold,” said Canadian coach Jean-Pierre Cantin.
