Over the summer, two brothers from Salmon Arm headed to a martial arts competition in Las Vegas and dominated their competition.
In August, Élan and Winter Breget competed in the Summer International Open, hosted by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF), where they each won a gold medal.
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Fifteen-year-old Élan Breget competed for the first time as a juvenile, blue belt in Gi on Aug. 22 and No-Gi on Aug. 23. He achieved gold in Gi and finished his fastest match in 13 seconds using an ankle lock. He went on to finish with bronze in No-Gi, losing by one advantage point in the last second of the match. Élan challenged himself by going up in higher weight divisions for both events.
Élan said the most memorable moment of the competition was his first ankle lock in a tournament, and he is also proud of his final results.
“I have a gold to show how far I have come, and I have a bronze to show where I need to go,” he said.
Winter Breget is 14-years-old and competed in the Kids International IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship held at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Aug. 24. Winter fought as a Teen 2 in the heavyweight division – a division higher than his own weight. He was able to secure the Gold medal and completed one match in 31 seconds with an arm bar.
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Winter was confident in his performance but showed concern for his older brother.
“I was not ever scared for myself; I knew I was going to win. I was scared for my brother,” Winter said. “I was determined to win I forgot to be nervous.”
More recently, the brothers travelled to Everett, Wash. to compete in the North American Grappling Association on Sept. 14. Élan and Winter both brought home double gold for Gi and No-Gi.
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