Judo legend and former wrestler Jimmy Pedro coaches Kayla Harrison to historic second Olympic judo gold
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
VIDEO: Kayla Harrison and Jimmy Pedro Press Conference
Two-time Olympic judo champion Kayla Harrison and her coach Jimmy Pedro after Harrison made history in Rio tonight. Pedro was an EIWA wrestling champion for Brown University and a legend in judo himself. Gary Abbott photo.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Jimmy Pedro, who has the most impressive judo career among the U.S. men in his sport, coached the superstar of American judo, Kayla Harrison, to her second straight Olympic gold medal today at Carioca 2 Arena.
Previously the greatest American athlete in the sport, Pedro has now coached Harrison to a new level of success. She was the only Olympic judo champion in USA history with her victory in the London Olympics, and now has two Olympic golds. She also boasts a 2010 World title and 2008 Junior World title. She was also the first person in her weight division from any nation to ever win two Olympic gold medals.
Until tonight, Pedro was the only U.S. judo athlete with two Olympic medals, both bronzes, which he won in 1996 and 2004. He was also a 1999 World champion in judo.
When asked about how Harrison has passed her in the USA Judo record books, Pedro beamed with pride in his student.
“It is the sign of a great coach,” he quipped. “As a coach, what you try to do is make your athletes surpass what you have done. To me, that is creating a legacy. My father never made it to the Olympics. He helped me make the Olympic team. He helped me win two bronze medals. Now, the next generation, we prepare and make them even better. That is called a program. I am very proud of the program we have created, all of our athletes, even the ones who didn’t medal here. We have a fully competitive program and they all fought their hearts out,” said Pedro.
The wrestling community takes great pride in Pedro’s career in judo, as his roots are also in the wrestling community. A high school star in Massachusetts in wrestling, Pedro won an EIWA wrestling title at Brown University. His connection to wrestling continues through his son, who is a top young wrestler. Pedro and his father run the Pedro Judo Center in Massachusetts, but also run Pedro’s Wrestling Club, which is training young wrestlers in the community.
Harrison won four bouts on the way to her second gold medal, scoring an ippon (judo’s pin) with just seconds left in the finals to defeat Audrey Tcheumeo of France in the finals. To reach the finals, she stopped Zhehui Zhang of China, Abigel Joo of Hungary and Anamari Valensek of Slovakia.
Reporters asked Harrison what she was saying to Pedro after her gold-medal victory.
“I just jumped in his arms. I don’t remember what I said. He was just screaming ‘Two-time Olympic champ.’ I was kind of, ‘Is this my life? Is this real now?’ I just looked at him. I can’t believe that this moment has happened. I have thought about this for a long, long time. I just have to tell you that this has been a hard four years. It is really hard to repeat as an Olympic champion. That’s one of the hardest things you can do, especially in the United States in a sport like judo. We don’t have the bodies. We don’t have the funding. Russians get funded 20 million dollars a years. Ours is like a half-million a year for everybody. It was almost impossible. My coaches made me fight every tournament. They made me fight when I was tired, when I was exhausted, when I was injured and I was sick. They made it so that I worked too hard to give this up to anybody,” she said.
In her press conference, Harrison gave credit to Pedro and his father, who have coached her to both Olympic titles, for making her dream a reality.
“It has been a long four years, probably the hardest four years of my life. Thanks to this guy next to me and his father, they pushed me harder than I ever thought I could be pushed. I’ve done more tournaments than you ever want to hear about in places I can’t even pronounce. I have fought when I’m sick, when I’m injured, when I’m tired, and it was all to prepare me for this day. A lot of times I questioned it, but now I don’t question it any more,” she said.
Pedro knew that if Harrison took the hard road in her preparation, that she would be ready when it counted.
“She didn’t come into these Games as a reigning Olympic champion. She came in as somebody who never did it before. We put her through hell. She went to places she didn’t want to go. She went to camps. She fought in competitions, she fought injured. We told her, if you can win these events, not at your best and not wanting to be there, then wait until the Olympics come, because they will feel a different Kayla,” said Pedro.
He also gave his perspective on what makes Harrison such a special athlete and a special person, capable of the great things which she has achieved.
“She is a young lady who has overcome such adversity in her life that no judo match can compare to what she has been through. It means nothing to her. As an athlete, she is willing to give 100% of herself. She does everything that is expected of her. She does all the training. She listens. She adapts. She can follow a game plan. She never skips a workout. She is as dedicated as they come, and she is as mentally tough as any athlete I have ever coached,” he said.
Pedro explained just how much her victory means to him, to his sport and to his nation.
“We have so much time invested, so many emotions invested. They go through such struggles. The sport of judo is not easy. You have so many nations that invest so much money into their programs. You think about France and Brazil and Japan and Georgia and Russia, and the amount of money that is involved for their champions when they win. Our kids are up against such odds. It’s amazing when we can win a single medal, let alone produce a two-time Olympic champion. It is beyond words,” he said.
Harrison had trouble explaining her emotions when the finals bout was over and she was able to celebrate her victory.
“I don’t know if I can describe it. It is almost unbelievable. I thought being the first American to win a gold medal, I thought that that high, that there would never be anything to top it, but I was wrong. Being a two-time Olympic champion tops it for sure. It’s not just my lifetime, not just a lifetime of sacrifice on my part. It’s a lifetime of sacrifice on Jimmy’s part and his father, who has been in the sport for 40 years. The program that they have truly builds champions. My teammate Travis Stevens made his third Olympics and just won a silver medal a few days ago. We have probably the best team the United States has ever had. To be a part of that legacy, and to be part of that Pedro legacy, for me is a huge honor,” she said.
The greatest wrestler on earth congratulated the greatest judo athlete on the planet with a tweet shortly after her victory. Jordan Burroughs, on #AllISeeIsGold, posted a photo of Kayla Harrison and him in a wrestling stance during Opening Ceremonies and wrote “It’s an honor being friends with you. Congratulations! Save some gold for the rest of us! #backtoback"
Two-time Olympic judo champion Kayla Harrison and her coach Jimmy Pedro after Harrison made history in Rio tonight. Pedro was an EIWA wrestling champion for Brown University and a legend in judo himself. Gary Abbott photo.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Jimmy Pedro, who has the most impressive judo career among the U.S. men in his sport, coached the superstar of American judo, Kayla Harrison, to her second straight Olympic gold medal today at Carioca 2 Arena.
Previously the greatest American athlete in the sport, Pedro has now coached Harrison to a new level of success. She was the only Olympic judo champion in USA history with her victory in the London Olympics, and now has two Olympic golds. She also boasts a 2010 World title and 2008 Junior World title. She was also the first person in her weight division from any nation to ever win two Olympic gold medals.
Until tonight, Pedro was the only U.S. judo athlete with two Olympic medals, both bronzes, which he won in 1996 and 2004. He was also a 1999 World champion in judo.
When asked about how Harrison has passed her in the USA Judo record books, Pedro beamed with pride in his student.
“It is the sign of a great coach,” he quipped. “As a coach, what you try to do is make your athletes surpass what you have done. To me, that is creating a legacy. My father never made it to the Olympics. He helped me make the Olympic team. He helped me win two bronze medals. Now, the next generation, we prepare and make them even better. That is called a program. I am very proud of the program we have created, all of our athletes, even the ones who didn’t medal here. We have a fully competitive program and they all fought their hearts out,” said Pedro.
The wrestling community takes great pride in Pedro’s career in judo, as his roots are also in the wrestling community. A high school star in Massachusetts in wrestling, Pedro won an EIWA wrestling title at Brown University. His connection to wrestling continues through his son, who is a top young wrestler. Pedro and his father run the Pedro Judo Center in Massachusetts, but also run Pedro’s Wrestling Club, which is training young wrestlers in the community.
Harrison won four bouts on the way to her second gold medal, scoring an ippon (judo’s pin) with just seconds left in the finals to defeat Audrey Tcheumeo of France in the finals. To reach the finals, she stopped Zhehui Zhang of China, Abigel Joo of Hungary and Anamari Valensek of Slovakia.
Reporters asked Harrison what she was saying to Pedro after her gold-medal victory.
“I just jumped in his arms. I don’t remember what I said. He was just screaming ‘Two-time Olympic champ.’ I was kind of, ‘Is this my life? Is this real now?’ I just looked at him. I can’t believe that this moment has happened. I have thought about this for a long, long time. I just have to tell you that this has been a hard four years. It is really hard to repeat as an Olympic champion. That’s one of the hardest things you can do, especially in the United States in a sport like judo. We don’t have the bodies. We don’t have the funding. Russians get funded 20 million dollars a years. Ours is like a half-million a year for everybody. It was almost impossible. My coaches made me fight every tournament. They made me fight when I was tired, when I was exhausted, when I was injured and I was sick. They made it so that I worked too hard to give this up to anybody,” she said.
In her press conference, Harrison gave credit to Pedro and his father, who have coached her to both Olympic titles, for making her dream a reality.
“It has been a long four years, probably the hardest four years of my life. Thanks to this guy next to me and his father, they pushed me harder than I ever thought I could be pushed. I’ve done more tournaments than you ever want to hear about in places I can’t even pronounce. I have fought when I’m sick, when I’m injured, when I’m tired, and it was all to prepare me for this day. A lot of times I questioned it, but now I don’t question it any more,” she said.
Pedro knew that if Harrison took the hard road in her preparation, that she would be ready when it counted.
“She didn’t come into these Games as a reigning Olympic champion. She came in as somebody who never did it before. We put her through hell. She went to places she didn’t want to go. She went to camps. She fought in competitions, she fought injured. We told her, if you can win these events, not at your best and not wanting to be there, then wait until the Olympics come, because they will feel a different Kayla,” said Pedro.
He also gave his perspective on what makes Harrison such a special athlete and a special person, capable of the great things which she has achieved.
“She is a young lady who has overcome such adversity in her life that no judo match can compare to what she has been through. It means nothing to her. As an athlete, she is willing to give 100% of herself. She does everything that is expected of her. She does all the training. She listens. She adapts. She can follow a game plan. She never skips a workout. She is as dedicated as they come, and she is as mentally tough as any athlete I have ever coached,” he said.
Pedro explained just how much her victory means to him, to his sport and to his nation.
“We have so much time invested, so many emotions invested. They go through such struggles. The sport of judo is not easy. You have so many nations that invest so much money into their programs. You think about France and Brazil and Japan and Georgia and Russia, and the amount of money that is involved for their champions when they win. Our kids are up against such odds. It’s amazing when we can win a single medal, let alone produce a two-time Olympic champion. It is beyond words,” he said.
Harrison had trouble explaining her emotions when the finals bout was over and she was able to celebrate her victory.
“I don’t know if I can describe it. It is almost unbelievable. I thought being the first American to win a gold medal, I thought that that high, that there would never be anything to top it, but I was wrong. Being a two-time Olympic champion tops it for sure. It’s not just my lifetime, not just a lifetime of sacrifice on my part. It’s a lifetime of sacrifice on Jimmy’s part and his father, who has been in the sport for 40 years. The program that they have truly builds champions. My teammate Travis Stevens made his third Olympics and just won a silver medal a few days ago. We have probably the best team the United States has ever had. To be a part of that legacy, and to be part of that Pedro legacy, for me is a huge honor,” she said.
The greatest wrestler on earth congratulated the greatest judo athlete on the planet with a tweet shortly after her victory. Jordan Burroughs, on #AllISeeIsGold, posted a photo of Kayla Harrison and him in a wrestling stance during Opening Ceremonies and wrote “It’s an honor being friends with you. Congratulations! Save some gold for the rest of us! #backtoback"
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