Harrison finishes year as world’s top medal winner

Dec. 13, 2010 - PRLog -- TOKYO – American and world judo champion Kayla Harrison, who fights out of the Boston area, was upset in the second round of the Tokyo Grand Slam Sunday, and did not medal. However, she finished 2010 as the world champion and the top medal winner in international judo competition.

Harrison came out strong and beat hometown favorite Aiki Ishibano of Japan in the opening round. However, in round two Germany’s Annike Heise pulled an upset, defeating Harrison in a hard-fought contest.

“The year didn’t end the way I wanted, but it will be ok,” Harrison said. “I’ll get a little rest over the next couple of weeks, regroup, and be ready to go to Europe in 2011.”

The annual Tokyo Grand Slam tournament is also called The Kano Cup, named in honor of Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo. It typically draws a large pool of competitors – many of whom are among the top ranked fighters in the world.

“The Kano Cup is one of the most prestigious and toughest tournaments in the world,” Head Coach Jimmy Pedro said.

Despite the disappointment, Harrison finishes 2010 as the World Champion, the world’s top medal count winner, and the number-one ranked woman in the world. She has finished in the top five at 13 international events this year. Seven of those top-five finishes were gold medals. She is also the reigning United States judo champion.

“Kayla has accomplished more and won more medals this year than most athletes achieve in their lifetime,” Pedro said. “Judo is a very unforgiving sport as it just takes one mistake or mental lapse and the match is over.”

He added that Harrison has been training and competing non-stop since winning the world championships in September.

“It is impossible to medal in everything, especially when you are not peaking for the events, but rather training through them,” Pedro said. He added that the focus will remain on Harrison having as many tough matches as possible in preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Harrison will be returning to Boston later this week, with a stop in Los Angeles to teach at a judo seminar. After the holidays, she will begin preparing for the 2011 European tour.

2010 Medal Count:
Gold - Senior World Championships
Gold - USA World Cup
Gold - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Gold - Sao Paulo World Cup
Gold - Venezuela World Cup
Gold - El Salvador World Cup
Gold - Birmingham World Cup
Gold - U.S. Open
Gold - USA Judo Senior National Championships
Silver - Uzbekistan World Cup
Bronze - Senior Pan American Championships
Bronze - Dusseldorf Grand Prix
Bronze - Warsaw World Cup
Fifth - Rio Grand Slam

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About Kayla Harrison
Kayla Harrison won the world judo championships on September 9 in Tokyo, Japan, making her only the fourth world champion from the United States. Her success in 2010 includes one grand prix gold medal and five world cup gold medals. Originally from Middletown, Ohio, she trains under the direction of 1999 World Judo Champion Jimmy Pedro at the Pedro Judo Center in Wakefield, Mass. She also receives support from the New York Athletic Club.