Monday, August 27, 2012
U.S. Olympic Judo Coach Jimmy Pedro tells more about his sport and about his background. His judo center holds public celebration for gold medalist Kayla Harrison Sept. 29.
Wakefield is gaining an increasingly prominent spot on the map in the world of competitive judo - and not just because of the recent gold medal won by Kayla Harrison, who trains at Jimmy Pedro's Judo Center on New Salem Street in Wakefield. Since 2007, Pedro's has been one of several USA Judo National Training Sites. In fact, Pedro himself was the coach of the U.S. Olympic Judo team during the London games, continuing what has long been a standout career in the martial art. The owner and head instructor of Pedro's Judo Center won bronze at the 1996 and 2004 Olympics, and he was also on the 1992 and 2000 teams. Along the way, he also won the world championship in 1999 and five U.S. championships. Pedro is a graduate of St. John's Prep who …
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Got a photo to share with the community? Email it to william.laforme@patch.com.
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Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Earlier this week, Wakefield Patch ran some photos of a welcome home party in Boston celebrating Kayla Harrison's judo gold medal. We've got a couple of more photos from the night to share, courtesy of Harrison's coach, Jimmy Pedro, who himself is a two-time Olympic bronze winner. Another Olympian with ties to Wakefield, Travis Stevens, also competed with distinction at the 2012 games, as noted in this article from earlier in the month.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Harrison, who trains at Jimmy Pedro's in Wakefield, is first American to take an Olympic gold in judo.
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Monday, August 20, 2012
Over the weekend, there was a big homecoming party for U.S. Olympian Kayla Harrison at the Empire Asian Restaurant on the Boston waterfront. Earlier this summer, Harrison achieved the distinction of becoming the first American to win an Olympic gold medal in judo. In just a few short weeks, she's already emerged as a great new ambassador for her sport and also as a source of local pride. Harrison trains in Wakefield at Jimmy Pedro's judo center. Pedro himself holds two Olympic bronze medals and represented the U.S. at four different Olympics from 1992 to 2004. Thanks very much to him and the judo center for providing these courtesy photos from the weekend.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Harrison won first U.S. gold medal in judo this month at 2012 Olympics.
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Tuesday, August 14, 2012
The following is an announcement from O.C. Tanner: U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team ring designer and donor O.C. Tanner today announced judo athlete Kayla Harrison as the first of three winners of the O.C. Tanner Inspiration Award. Following her performance at the London 2012 Olympic Games, Harrison will present her mentor and coach, Jimmy "Big Jim" Pedro Sr., with a 14k gold commemorative Olympic ring to honor and thank him for inspiring her Olympic journey. O.C. Tanner, with support from the United States Olympic Committee, selected Harrison's story from more than 20 U.S. Olympic athlete tributes submitted for the award. "No matter how many times I've lost, given up or felt like my world was over, he [Pedro] stood by me and pushed me to …
Monday, August 6, 2012
International Olympic Committee announces Nick Delpopolo disqualified from London games. Athlete had already competed and finished 7th.
An Olympic judo athlete who trains in Wakefield has been expelled from the games after testing positive for a prohibited substance. A statement from the International Olympic Committee said that Nicholas Delpopolo, 23, was disqualified after he provided a positive urine sample after a match on July 30. Delpopolo competed in the 73kg weight class and placed 7th in London. A report on WCVB.com said that Delpopolo said that he unintentionally ate something containing marijuana before the games. The website also noted that this was the fifth positive test to come up during the London games. The Team USA website lists Delpopolo’s hometown as Westfield, New Jersey, and he was born in Belgrade, in the former Yugoslavia. He trains in Wakefield. …
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Kayla Harrison became the first American ever to win a gold medal in judo.
A Wakefield athlete made national history on Thursday morning when she defeated Gemma Gibbons of Great Britain to win the gold medal in the women's half-heavyweight judo competition at the 2012 Olympics in London. Harrison, 22, who is originally from Middleton, Ohio, currently lives in Marblehead and trains at Jimmy Pedro’s Judo Center in Wakefield, is a two-time national champion and won the world championship in 2010. Harrison was ranked number four in the world as she entered into this year's Olympics. She faced Abigal Joo of Hungary in the quarterfinals, and Mayra Aguiar of Brazil in the semifinals. Aguiar was ranked number one heading into the Olympics. "It's been years and years of hard work," she said during a previous interview …
Deborah DeCecca
7:16 pm on Saturday, August 4, 2012
Congratulations!!! You go girl. USA! more ›