Rain Pfaff (left) and Isabelle Armstrong (right) after winning gold and bronze at the 2024 Jiu-Jitsu World Championships in Greece. (Submitted photos)
Chatham

CK martial artists win three medals at Jiu-Jitsu World Championships

Two Chatham-Kent martial artists are back home after winning three medals at the Jiu-Jitsu World Championships in Greece.

Hundreds of the best martial artists from across the world took part, including Blenheim's Rain Pfaff and Chatham's Isabelle Armstrong.

Pfaff, who was competing in the adult female +70 kg category, was coming off wins in 2022 and 2023 but came up a bit short this time as she walked away with the bronze medal.

She lost to the eventual gold medal winner.

"I was ready to quit when I lost but my coach looked at me and he's like 'five minutes' and I'm like 'what do you mean?' Cry, do what you have to do... and we regrouped," Pfaff said.

She was still able to leave Greece with a gold medal as she also took part in the no-gi competition. The final match actually saw her faceoff against her teammate Ache Knight.

"It's never fun to fight your teammates but we both wanted that gold," Pfaff added.

As for Armstrong, she was able to win a bronze medal in the U18 no-gi female 52kg category.

It was a special moment for her dad Thomas. He explained he was extremely proud of how she rebounded after losing in the gi competition.

"It was a pretty rough match for her but she got her spirits back and turned it around for no-gi," he said.

Pfaff was just as proud.

"I'm so excited for her. The fact that she was able to secure a bronze is really big," she added.

Pfaff did note she was disappointed she couldn't cheer Armstrong on in-person as she had left Greece for Texas to compete in the Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship. There she won another gold medal, claiming it's her biggest win to date due to the level of competition.

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