Team Brings Home Four Bronze From Pan Am Championships
Ernest Pund |
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April 28, 2012 9:22 PM |
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Montreal, Canada - April 28, 2012 – The U.S. team is bringing home four bronze medals from the Pan American Championships that ended today in Montreal, a strong enough finish to secure five divisions for the team headed to the Olympics this summer in London.
Taking bronze were Nick Delpopolo, 73 kg (NYAC/Jason Morris Judo, Scotia, NY); Anthony Turner, 100+ kg (Ki-Itsu-Sai National Training Center, Coral Springs, FL); Brad Bolen, 66kg (NYAC/Jason Morris Judo, Scotia, NY); and Nathan Kearney, 55kg (Okuri Judo Club, Texas).
The team was in Montreal without their top guns, Kayla Harrison 78 kg (NYAC/Team FORCE, Wakefield, Mass.), Travis Stevens 81 kg. (NYAC/Team FORCE, Wakefield, Mass.) and Marti Malloy 57 kg. (National Training Site at San Jose State University, CA). Their positions on the Olympic team were virtually locked. This was the last opportunity for U.S. judoka to pick up points for qualifying slots in the Olympics.
“On the bright side, we now know that both Kayla Harrison and Travis Stevens will be seeded top-eight at the Games,” said Jimmy Pedro, head coach of the U.S. Olympic Judo Team. “Also, Marti Malloy and Kyle Vashkulat are now official U.S. Olympians.” Malloy qualifies directly and Kyle Vashkulat, 100 kg (NYAC/Jason Morris Judo, Scotia, NY) gets a slot through the Pan American Judo Confederation quota.
Judo athletes qualify for a team directly by being within the top 22 males internationally or the top 14 females. In addition, each continental judo federation, including the PJC, has a quota of athletes to add above and beyond what each member nation carries directly.
The only spot that remains to be decided is for the 73 kg division, which is shared by Delpopolo and Michael Eldred (Western Idaho Judo Institute, Fruitland, ID). Eldred was not at the Pan American Championships but won a gold at the Senior National Championships in Irving, TX, last week. The two will face-off on the mats in the Hour of Power scheduled May 12 at the back-to-back World Cup Miami and U.S. Open. The results of the shiai will round the U.S. Olympic Team off to five, including three males and two females.
Placing 5th in Montreal were Kyle Vashkulat; Nina Cutro-Kelly 78+ kg (Universal Judo, San Antonio, TX); Angelica Delgado, 52kg (Ki-Itsu-Sai National Training Center, Coral Springs, FL); Ann Shiraishi, 48kg (East Bay Judo Institute, El Cerrito, CA); and Christal Ransom, 63kg (U.S. Olympic Training Center, Colorado Springs, CO).
- Story by Ernest Pund, USA Judo