Island Top Team instructor Robert Biernacki, left, and teammate Jimmy Lapointe, right, congratulate Dwayne Johnston on his silver medal at IBJJF Masters Worlds last week in Las Vegas.

Island Top Team instructor Robert Biernacki, left, and teammate Jimmy Lapointe, right, congratulate Dwayne Johnston on his silver medal at IBJJF Masters Worlds last week in Las Vegas.

Top Team athlete second at jiu-jitsu masters worlds

Dwayne Johnston of Nanaimo's Island Top Team martial arts club made it to the podium at world championships.

An Island Top Team competitor made it to the podium at world championships.

Dwayne Johnston took silver in his blue belt ultra heavyweight division Friday at the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation masters worlds in Las Vegas.

Johnston won three matches, one of them via lapel choke for his first submission victory at a major international tournament. He lost by a narrow margin in the final when his opponent scored points in the dying seconds.

The next day, Top Team’s Jimmy Lapointe made it to quarterfinals at the tournament in his purple belt middleweight division. Lapointe won three matches by dominant points victories and he had a fully applied armbar locked in on his quarterfinals opponent when time expired.

Nanaimo News Bulletin