Gouldie medals twice at racquetball worlds

Leyton Gouldie may not have come out on top at the racquetball worlds, but he still proved he can keep up with the very best.

Last month the Brandonite took home two bronze medals for Canada following a threesome of strong performances at the World Junior Racquetball Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where he competed in all three 18U divisions.

Gouldie secured his first third-place finish of the tournament alongside partner Raphael Guillemette of Quebec in boys doubles after dispatching Costa Rica’s Tomãis Hidalgo and Andre Pacheco 3-1 (11-7, 10-12, 11-2, 11-6) in the quarterfinals before losing a thrilling semi-finals matchup to the eventual winners from Mexico 3-0 (17-15, 16-14, 11-8).

He also teamed up with Terrebonne, Quebec’s Chloé Jauvin in the mixed doubles category to land another podium finish after falling 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-5) to Bolivia’s Natalia Mendez Veizaga and Marco Mamani Aguilar in the semis.

Gouldie’s second bronze outing of the tournament brought his career totals to three World Junior medals, and he had another opportunity to add to that number in boys singles but was given an extremely tough opponent in Marco Mamani Aguilar of Bolivia.

Gouldie fought hard until the end in what he thought was his “best game ever,” but it ultimately proved to be not enough as Mamani Aguilar topped him in four sets (11-9, 10-12, 13-11, 11-2) and would go on to be crowned champion.

Although it wasn’t his ideal result, Gouldie is still content with what he left on the court back in the Dominican.

“If you told me going in I was going to get two medals and have a tight match in the quarterfinals in singles, I’d definitely be happy with that,” Gouldie said. “I mean, obviously, it’d be nice to change the colour of one of those medals or medals in singles as well, but overall, it was my goal to medal in at least one, so to medal twice was super great.

“I think my match in the quarterfinal showed I was right in it, and it was super close. One point here or there could have changed that and let me medal there too, so it was definitely a really good tournament for me, and it’s certainly nice to be right there with them.”

Of all the opponents in the singles bracket, Gouldie was the one to give Mamani Aguilar the best run for his money, as he was the only one who was able to take a set over the Bolivian. It’s an impressive feat that speaks to how far Gouldie has come over the last number of years, even drawing back to his first worlds experience back in 2022, when he also brought home a bronze except in 16U doubles.

“To have that close of matches with all the top players, especially considering how much further behind I was, it was really cool to see,” said Gouldie. “In Mexico and Bolivia, they do racquetball like we do hockey in Canada, so it tends to be that even at the 12-and-under and 14-and-under level, they just have these couple kids that are like the Connor McDavids that are just insane, and it seems like such another level, but as you get older and older, the gap tends to shrink.

“People catch up, and the hard work starts to catch up too, but it just takes some time, so it’s good to see that working and the gap closing. Just even being on the court with the top players and it not feeling like I’m getting run off the court and feeling like it’s a good match, it’s not something I would have expected that long ago. Now, I feel like I’m a threat to win those games.”

And it’s been that way for the past year, as Gouldie undoubtedly took another step in his long and tremendous racquetball journey.

In April, he took part in his first international event, representing Canada in adult competition at the International Racquetball Federation Pan American Championships in Guatemala City, and did not disappoint. Gouldie picked apart his opponents one by one and made it all the way to the 21U singles final before falling in a tight 3-0 (11-9, 11-6, 11-8) battle against Chile’s Jaime Nicolas Mansilla Cid.

He followed that breakout performance with two podium finishes just one month later, following a gold and silver medal at the Canadian National Racquetball Championships in Burlington, Ont. Gouldie captured the boys’ singles 18U division title for a second consecutive year and then placed second in the men’s open doubles division playing alongside Asher Pocsai of Ontario.

The duo’s only loss was in the final, where they faced Gouldie’s coach, Kurtis Cullen, and his teammate, Coby Iwaasa — the winner of the Canadian Open singles category.

Then in the fall, Gouldie was named to Racquetball Canada’s National Elite Men’s Team, ranking fourth overall and the youngest out of six athletes representing Canada on the world stage.

So many experiences and destinations in one year, but the most important is the one back home. Gouldie is thankful for it every day.

“It’s honestly one of the coolest feelings to be able to go out there and know that everyone back home is cheering for you,” he said. “It’s super cool, and it’s a feeling that you can’t get anywhere else.”

Gouldie’s younger brother, Oren, also got to experience the bright lights in Santo Domingo.

The 14-year-old competed in the singles division and partnered with Elie Guillemette of Quebec in the doubles category in the Esprit Cup division, an open developmental tournament for young athletes. While he didn’t notch a spot on the podium in either bracket, he is hopeful this experience will only boost his fortunes ahead.

“It was really cool visiting another country to go play, and so I was a little nervous, but it was awesome to be able to represent Canada to go play there,” he said. “I had a really tough draw, so I only ended up winning one match, but I had lots of fun while I was there, and it was cool to realize how good I can actually get to be and what level I might actually be able to get to.”

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com