Christa Deguchi

Biography

Christa Deguchi was born and raised in Japan, but made the move to compete for Canada, her father’s birth country, in 2017. She has since become Canada’s most decorated female judoka. 

It started with her becoming the first Canadian female judoka to win a senior world championship medal when she won 57kg bronze at the 2018 IJF World Judo Championships. A year later in 2019, she became Canada’s first ever world champion in judo. She added a second 57kg world title to her resumé in 2023. She earned her fourth career world championship medal in 2024 as she took home silver. 

Heading into her Olympic debut at Paris 2024, Deguchi is the world number one in the women’s 57kg world rankings. She has 11 career Grand Slam gold medals, to go with four silver and two bronze on the elite circuit. Three of those gold medals came in 2024 in Baku, Antalya, and Qazaqstan Barysy. From 2023 to 2024, she was a top two finisher in nine of her 10 Grand Slam events and won bronze in the other. In 2022 she won 57kg gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. 

Since Deguchi began competing for Canada, the battle has been fierce between her and teammate Jessica Klimkait for the lone Olympic spot available for each Games in the women’s 57kg category, as they traded positions at the top of the world rankings. Deguchi’s 2024 results gave her the edge for Paris 2024 after Klimkait got the nod for Tokyo 2020. 

A Little More About Christa

Getting into the Sport: Started judo when she was three years old and started competing in her first year of elementary school… Outside Interests: Likes spending time with her three cats who keep her very busy… She also enjoys learning about other animals too… Enjoys snowboarding when she has time… Odds and Ends: Her younger sister Kelly is also a Team Canada judoka at Paris 2024 in the 52kg category… Graduated from University in 2017… Always buys fridge magnets for her mum and dad when she travels… Her motto is “Always do my best”.