Rousey Wins British Open;
 

 Team USA Takes Four Medals in Day 1

 

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Ronda Rousey (Wakefield, Mass. / NYAC / Pedro’s Judo Center / 63kg) took her fourth European title during the past year with a gold medal at the British Open in London on Saturday.

 

Rousey reeled in her first two opponents with little problem, winning both matches by ippon (instant win) to advance to the semifinal against Sarah Clark (GBR). 

 

The last time the two met, Rousey was a 17-year-old at the Athens Olympic Games.  The youngest athlete in the judo competition, Rousey picked up a win over Clark en route to her ninth-place finish. 

 

Although the two haven’t fought since, both rapidly ascended the world rankings.  Rousey, now 19, is the fourth-ranked athlete in the world while Clark won last year’s European Championships to move up to sixth. 

 

The match was one of the best battles in the women’s division all day as both players fought strategically and neither was able to produce a score sending the match into Golden Score (overtime).

 

The back-and-forth attacks continued for just over a minute before Rousey threw Clark with a drop o uchi (dropping leg throw) to win the match by a koka (smallest points).

 

“All three of my first matches were straight in a row.  I think I was done by 9:30 or 10 this morning and then I didn’t fight the final til 3:30,” Rousey said. “They only seed the British players at this one, so I knew there was about a 50/50 chance I’d draw Sarah before the final, but actually it was better to have that match earlier in the day because then you get it over with instead of sitting around and waiting and worrying about it for hours and hours.”

 

Rousey’s teammate Kristen Allan (Springfield, Va. / Sport Judo) also advanced to the medal rounds.  Allan defeated Connie Ramsay (GBR) in the first-round and lost to Hannah Wahlberg (SWE) in the quarter-finals.  After picking up two wins by ippon in the repechage, Allan lost to Clark in the bronze medal match to finish fifth.

 

Michael Eldred (Fruitland, Idaho / Western Idaho Judo Institute) was the Team USA’s top finisher on the men’s side, earning a silver medal at 73kg – his first at a Senior B-Level event.

 

After winning his first four matches, including defeating 2006 U.S. Open Champion Bobby Lee (Coral Springs, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site) in the quarter-finals, Eldred lost to 2005 Champion Matthew Purssey (GBR) in the finals.

 

Purssey had previously beat Senior Nationals silver medalist Radu Brestyan (Wakefield, Mass. / Team FORCE) in the semifinals. 

 

Brestyan came back to win the bronze, throwing Joost Vandermade (BEL) for ippon with a kata guruma (fireman’s carry) less than two minutes into the final.

 

Vandermade had advanced to the bronze medal match after throwing Lee, who finished seventh overall, for a yuko.

 

Justin Flores (Glenville, N.Y. / Jason Morris Judo Center / San Shi), the former top-ranked player in the U.S. at 66kg, returned to Europe for the first time in nearly two years this weekend and was quickly greeted with the unenviable task of fighting through three matches in the repechage to advance to the bronze medal round. 

 

After a first-round bye, Flores was thrown for ippon with a sode (sleeve lifting pulling hip throw) in his first match by Jean-Rene Badrick (GBR), who also beat Flores in the U.S. Open. 

 

After his trio of wins in the repechage, Flores came back from a deficit of two yukos to throw Diogo Cesar (POR) with an o soto gari (outer leg throw) to win bronze.

 

Among his wins in the repechage was a victory over Josh O’Neil (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site) who he threw and then pinned for ippon 65 seconds into the match.  O’Neil would finish seventh overall.

 

Jeremy Liggett (Glenville, N.Y. / NYAC / Jason Morris Judo Center) also fought for bronze, competing against Sam Dunkley.  With the score tied at the end of regulation time, Dunkley threw Liggett for a yuko (quarter-point) score in the Golden Score period to take the bronze medal while Liggett finished fifth. 

 

Seventeen-year-old Liggett, who won a silver medal at the 2006 Pan American Championships at 60kg, moved up to 66kg after the Junior World Championships and was competing in his first major senior European tournament this weekend.  After defeating O’Neil in the last 15 seconds of the quarterfinals, Liggett lost his semifinal match to Badrick on a counter. 

 

Other U.S. results included the following:

 

• Nick Kossor (Glenville, N.Y. / Jason Morris Judo Center) went 1-1 in the men’s 60kg division, losing to 2005 U.S. Open Champion James Millar (GBR) by ippon.

• Taylor Takata (Harlingen, Texas / Harlingen USA Judo National Training Site), a 2005 British Open bronze medalist went 2-2 in the 66kg division.

• Nate Torra (El Cerrito, Calif. / East Bay Judo Institute) lost in the first round by ippon in the 66kg division to Daniel Luxford by ippon after being down by a yuko (quarter-point).

• Two-time 2006 World Cup medalist Ryan Reser (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site) won his first match in the 73kg division against Elliott Stewart (GBR) by ippon in just over a minute.  After being up by a yuko in his next match, Reser was given two shidos (penalties) against Daniel Harper (GBR), including one with six seconds left in the match.  Reser was penalized again during the Golden Score period and lost the match.  Reser’s opponent lost his next match to eventual British Open Champion Matthew Purrsey (GBR) sankaku (triangle hold).

• Chuck Jefferson (San Jose, Calif. / San Jose State University) lost in the first round of the 73kg division.

• AJ Silverman (Glenville, N.Y. / Jason Morris Judo Center) also went 0-1 at 73kg.

• In the women’s 70kg division, Kayla Harrison (Middletown, Ohio / Renshuden) lost to Gemma Gibbons (GBR) in the first round.  Harrison won her first match and lost her next in the repechage to finish 1-2.

• Although the U.S. had three competitors in the seven-person women’s 78kg division, none advanced to the semifinals in a pooled division where the top two athletes from each of two pools advanced to the semifinals.  Asma Sharif (Wakefield, Mass. / Team FORCE) went 1-2 in her pool with her win coming over fellow American Lisa Uemura (Salinas, Calif. / Salinas Judo) who went 0-3.  Junior World Team member Marina Shafir (Latham, N.Y. / Jason Morris Judo Center) went 0-2 in the other pool.

• Brittni Bradford (San Antonio, Texas / Universal Judo) lost both of her matches in the women’s heavyweight division to Ronda Sturley (GBR) and Ashley Fleming (GBR) and did not advance out of her pool.

 

“We got lot of good feedback from the coaches of many of the other countries on the camaraderie of the team.  They all said that the U.S. really looked like a team and competed like a team rather than just individuals,” said Jimmy Pedro (Wakefield, Mass.), 1999 World Champion and coach of the USA Judo Elite U-23 Team that produced two of the day’s four medals. “I think we really stood out with our success so far at this tournament and we’re looking forward to tomorrow.”

 

Competition continues on Sunday with the women’s 48kg, 52kg and 57kg divisions and the men’s 81kg, 90kg, 100kg and +100kg divisions.

 

Complete results are as follows:

 

Men’s 60kg

1. Damien Bomboir (BEL)

2. Gavin Davies (GBR)

3. Pedro Jacinto (POR)
3. James Millar (GBR)

5. Gonzalo Ibanez (CAN)

5. Sergio Pessoa Jr. (CAN)

7. Josuke Tanaka (SUI)

7. Nuno Carvalho (POR)

 

Also Competed: Nick Kossor (Glenville, N.Y. / Jason Morris Judo Center), 1-1

 

Men’s 66kg

1. Tiago Lopes (POR)

2. Jean-Rene Badrick (GBR)

3. Justin Flores (Glenville, N.Y. / Jason Morris Judo Center / San Shi), 4-1

3. Sam Dunkley (GBR)

5. Diogo Cesar (POR)

5. Jeremy Liggett (Glenville, N.Y. / NYAC / Jason Morris Judo Center), 4-2

7. Joshua O’Neil (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site), 3-2

7. Miguel Tome (POR)

 

Also Competed: Taylor Takata (Harlingen, Texas / Harlingen USA Judo National Training Site), 2-2, and Nate Torra (El Cerrito, Calif. / East Bay Judo Institute), 0-1

 

Men’s 73kg

1. Matthew Purssey (GBR)

2. Michael Eldred (Fruitland, Idaho / Western Idaho Judo Institute), 4-1

3. Emmanuel Nartey (GBR)

3. Radu Brestyan (Wakefield, Mass. / Team FORCE), 4-1

5. Iain Feenan (GBR)

5. Joost Vandermade (BEL)

7. Daniel Harper (GBR)

7. Bobby Lee (Coral Springs, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site)

 

Also Competed: Ryan Reser (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site), 1-1, and AJ Silverman (Glenville, N.Y. / Jason Morris Judo Center), 0-1

 

Women’s 63kg

1. Ronda Rousey (Wakefield, Mass. / NYAC / Pedro’s Judo Center), 4-0

2. Jennie Bonsant (CAN)

3. Hannah Sinfield (GBR)

3. Sarah Clark (GBR)

5. Hannah Wahlberg (SWE)

5. Kristen Allan (Springfield, Va. / Sport Judo), 3-2

7. Claire Solier (GBR)

7. Colleen Kerr (GBR)

 

Women’s 70kg

1. Sally Conway (GBR)

2. Samantha Lowe (GBR)

3. Michelle Holt (GBR)

3. Kelita Zupancic (CAN)

5. Scarlett Woolcock (GBR)

5. Gemma Gibbons (GBR)

7. Katy Bryant (CAN)

7. Emma Fletcher (GBR)

 

Women’s 78kg

1. Sian Wilson (GBR)

2. Michelle Rogers (GBR)

3. Caroline Kinnane (GBR)

3. Marylise Levesque (CAN)

 

Also Competed: Asma Sharif (Wakefield, Mass. / Team FORCE), 1-2; Lisa Uemura (Salinas, Calif. / Salinas Judo Club), 0-3; and Marina Shafir (Latham, N.Y. / Jason Morris Judo Center), 0-2

 

Women’s +78kg

1. Simone Callendar (GBR)

2. Sarah Adlington (GBR)

3. Rhonda Sturley (GBR)

3. Ashley Fleming (GBR)

 

Also Competed: Brittni Bradford (San Antonio, Texas / Universal Judo), 0-2