Queens County’s Abigail Smith gears up for international judo meet in Germany

Abigail Smith with her coach Jason Scott at the Elite National Championships in Edmonton on Jan. 13 and 14. (Abigail Smith photo)

Another Queens County athlete is getting ready to represent Canada on the world stage.

Last Friday, Sarah Mitton of Brooklyn won her first international gold medal in the shot put when she beat the rest of the field at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow.

Now, 16-year-old judo athlete Abigail Smith of Brooklyn is training hard for the International Thuringia Cup in Germany on March 23. 

Smith trains four days a week after school at Nova United Martial Arts, her judo club in Halifax. And she’s getting ready for a sold-out fundraiser this Saturday at Route 3 Cellar Bar and Grill. It’s an ‘80s-themed bowling tournament at 3 p.m.

Smith has had a busy year already nationally and internationally.

She finished third at the Danish Open in early February. She captured two bronze medals in her class at a national judo meet in Edmonton in January. And in November, she captured silver and bronze at the Pan American Cup in Montreal, her first international competition. 

She is ranked in the Judo Canada Top 10 in the U-18 division. Sport Nova Scotia has chosen her to be one of 12 Nova Scotia True Sport Athlete Ambassadors for 2024. 

And she is one of only two members of her club representing Canada at separate events in Germany.

Smith told QCCR in January that she’s lucky to have such great family, community and team support.

“People think judo is an individual sport and it is an individual sport, but it’s a huge team sport because you can’t get anywhere without your team, your training partners,” she says. “And having a good team you can rely on in sport and outside of sport is really important and that’s what’s helped me get so far in judo.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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