News Release

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (GNB) – New Brunswick athletes concluded their competitions on Thursday at the VIIIth Jeux de la Francophonie in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

In Judo, Alex Colpitts (under 90kg) lost the bronze medal match to Canadian Zachary Burt. He lost his semi-final match to Canadian Louis Krieber-Gagnon, the gold medal winner. He did win his first three matches by ippon. Andrew Blaney (under 100kg) lost his two preliminary round matches as did Andrew Vienneau (100kg plus).

In the last day for athletics competitions, Barry Brit took 8th spot in the 5000m in a time of 14m29s89. Naomie Maltais was 10th with a distance of 42m56 and Elizabeth MacDonald, 52m18, was 8th in hammer throw.

All athletes have now completed their competitions.

According to Andrew Blaney, his two matches were different.

“The second was a lot better than my first,” Blaney said. “I had a great experience. I fought guys that were stronger and I come home with lots of experience. I realize I can’t stop or freeze during a match. I need to get better, gain more experience, work harder and get more international experience.”

For Andrew Vienneau, his experience was great even if the results were not the best.

“I was the youngest at 18 years old,” said Vienneau. “I tried to accumulate as much experience as possible for the next games. Other than strength, I need to gain experience. I still look forward to the next few years.”

Elizabeth MacDonald took 8th spot in hammer throw and she was happy with her distance.

“My first throws did not go well, but my last was my best,” said MacDonald. “I had trouble with my turns. These are my second games and were different than in Nice (2013). The people here supported the games well and the volunteers did a great job. The camaraderie was super.”

“I greatly enjoyed my experience, but I was not happy with my results,” said Naomie Maltais. “My throws did not go as planned. I am not sure what happened. This was my first international experience and there were lots of spectators. That stressed me. I enjoyed my time here and being on the same field as some of the best athletes of the world was awesome.”

Alex Colpitts lost his bronze medal competition.

“I met Burt last winter,” Colpitts said. “He has a better grip and was stronger than I was. I was happy to have won my three preliminary matches by ippon. I had not fought against Louis for about a year. It was a great experience and the games atmosphere was super.”

Today, medals will be presented in photography (Annie-France Noël) and sculpture (Émilie Lavoie).