Stefan Zwiers had the chance to slay his personal dragon and seize a national title in the process. But, the dragon -- Robert Edwards of Calgary -- showed he still had plenty of competitive fire and used it to forge his own golden result.
Sunday in Edmonton, host city of the senior national judo championships, Zwiers and Edwards clashed in the final match in the under-100-kilogram weight class. Zwiers, a member of the Prince George Judo Club, was seeking his first career win against Edwards. But, in the bout, Edwards prevailed when he threw Zwiers to the mat for victory.
"I had a couple chances to throw him and he had some chances to throw me," said Zwiers, who won four other Sunday matches to get a shot at Edwards. "I just went in all or nothing. I left openings for him to attack but on my attacks I was trying to finish. I'm not sure how long the fight went, I didn't really keep track of that, but it was a good fight. I think it's the best I've fought him yet. I keep improving.
"[Silver is] never what an athlete wants -- an athlete always wants to win," added Zwiers, who has been training in Montreal for the past three years. "It could have gone worse and it could have gone better but I'm happy with the way I fought."
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