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Ohio Judo, Inc. Our Mission - Ohio Judo, Inc. supports Judo throughout Ohio and beyond. As a sport, as a Martial Art, and as a way of life. |
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Congratulations to KAYLA HARRISON!!!!! Kayla wins the First Olympic GOLD Medal for the USA in the sport of Judo
Kayla Harrison made history today by becoming the first United States Judo competitor (male or female) to reach the top pedestal at any Olympic Games by winning the Gold Medal in the 2012 London Games. Her feat included wins featuring tachi waza (throwing techniques) and newaza (ground techniques). Her first match ended with an ippon when she successfully applied an arm bar against Russia’s Vera Moskalyuk. In her second match, after getting caught for waza-ari, Kayla came back by scoring yuko with a hip throw and then ippon with a driving osoto against Hungary's Abigel Joo. Mayra Aguiar of Brazil, ranked No. 1 in the World was Kayla’s third opponent and provided a hard fought match with ferocious gripping. Kayla scored yuko with ko soto gari to win the semi-final match. In the finals, Kayla dominated the action against a gamey Gemma Gibbons of Great Britain. Scoring yukos on harai goshi and koshi garuma, with no scores against her, secured the gold medal for Kayla, putting her on the top level of the awards platform in the 70K category. Kayla proved to be a wonderful representative of the U.S. and the sport of Judo at the London Games, not only by winning the first ever Gold medal in Judo for the U.S., but by her comportment and mental focus and control throughout the event. With all the anticipation of the potential history making opportunity, the pressure on this young lady must have been extreme, but she did not seem to let it interfere with her goal. She appeared calm, confident and in control throughout her matches. Great credit goes to Kayla, Jimmy Pedro (her full time coach, as well as the USA Olympic Coach) and Jim Pedro, Sr. (her personal coach and mentor) for developing the mental strength, as well as physical ability, to achieve her goal. Many of us joined Kayla in an emotional release of happiness in tears as we heard the U.S. National Anthem and witnessed the Stars & Stripes being raised during the awards ceremony. A native of Middletown, Ohio, Kayla is well known in the judo community here for her accomplishments both as a junior and senior competitor. She has graced our mats, as well as those around the country and indeed the world, for many years and though she moved to Massachusetts several years ago, we have followed her progress and still consider her “one of our own”. It has been a long, and for several years very difficult, journey for this wonderful young lady from her early successes to the Olympic Podium in London to receive the 1st Gold Medal awarded to a U.S. judoka.
We are very proud of you, Kayla!!!
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