Page 1   Page 2  Page 3 Page 4  Page 5  Page 7 Page 8 Page 9
 

21st October 2005 - 'Olympics in 2012, here I come,' says judo star
THE Olympics in 2012 beckons for this brave judo star - she has won a scholarship to prepare her for the world's most famous sporting occasion. Gemma Gibbons, 18, from Charlton, South London, has been nominated for an Our Heroes award in the Sports Achiever category by Michael Murphy, the team manager from The Metro Judo Club, Mycenae House in Blackheath. Mr Murphy said the news of Gemma's success in being picked for the 2012 Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) was particularly wonderful as the youngster also had to deal with the tragic loss of her mum Jeanette to leukaemia 15 months ago. He said: "She went into hospital for a bone marrow transplant, which was successful, but sadly she caught an infection while she was in there."

Gemma, (on the left at the Junior British Open wearing her gold medal) who has returned from Croatia, where she clinched fifth place in the Junior European Championships, said: "I was really pleased as there were people taking part from all the countries." The youngster, who has attended the club at Mycenae House, Mycenae Road, since she was six years old, said: "My mum got me into judo and encouraged me all the way......................    READ THE FULL 'South London Press' STORY
 

2nd October 2005 - Yesterday 18 year old Ronda Rousey of Scotia, New York, defeated Ikumi Tanimoto, sister of light middleweight Olympic champion Ayumi Tanimoto, in the final of the 63kgs division at the Fort Lauderdale U.S. Open Judo Championships. Rousey, current Junior World champion shown on the left at the 2004 Budapest Junior Worlds, comes from the extraordinary judo family of Dr AnnMaria De Mars who, as AnnMaria Burns, was the first American, male or female, to win a world title when she took gold at the 1984 Vienna Worlds (right). If Ronda had not been born in 1987 AnnMaria might have gone on to medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the first to include women.

At the Cairo World Championships Ronda Rousey was eliminated in the early stages by Alice Schlesinger of Israel who then lost the next round to Canadian, Marie Chisholm, preventing Ronda from taking part in the repercharge. During the spring European tournament season Ronda Rousey had not done as well as her coach, Jimmy Pedro Snr (right with Rousey in Germany earlier this year), had been planning. From now on Jimmy Pedro Snr is likely to be revising Ronda's stratergy in readiness for next year's junior Worlds.

Ronda's youngest step sister, Julia De Mars shown left, is clearly following in her mother's and sister's judo footsteps holding down 76 year old Colonel Charles Neuendorf (ret) at the North Island Naval Air Station, San Diego, California in July (picture courtesy of Jerry Hays). I am also pleased to note that Budokwai member and fellow clubmate, Bobby Rich, won the 90kgs division at the US Open beating Sylwester Gawel (POL) in the final. David Finch
 

28th September 2005 - Hiroaki Hiraoka JPN is seen in the above sequence executing a sumersault kataguruma for ippon at the August Braunschweig German Open against Lasse Leitert GER in the 60kgs semi final. In the final Hiraoka threw the rising French player Dimitri Dragin for ippon in 33 seconds. The full sequence and and rare pictures of former Olympic champion Mark Huizinga NED being dumped for ippon can be seen by clicking on this link or the above sequence. At the Cairo Worlds the Japanese relied on the experience of Tatsuski Egusa instead of Hiraoki but Egusa went out in the repercharge after being dumped by gold medallist Craig Fallon GBR in the quarter-finals.
 

27th September 2005. After supplying pictures of the Cairo World Championships to five judo magazines with a combined circulation of more than 125,000, I have now put a selection of the photos on the web site at this link CAIRO WORLDS. The link is also on the right border and the Olympiads page. The pages are divided into the four days of the individual championships. On the fifth day the IJF held an impromtu World Team Tournament by Country and photographs are available of this if required.

There has been much criticism of the Cairo Worlds with much of it deserved. It was a bold and far sighted decision to increase African judo participation and take such a major championships to to the continent. However, not all of the adverse publicity can be levelled at the Egyptian Organising Committee. For instance, Arabic is read from right to left and as a result the competitors were adorned with their given name not their family name - Craig instead of Fallon for Craig Fallon GBR. This, along with similar accreditation problems, should have been anticipated by the IJF who held the World Junior Championships in Cairo in 1994. The 'dirty garage' warm-up area could easily have been changed to a wing of the underground tunnel or, even better, one of the smaller side halls where there were mats down and some judo players practising. At the very least the IJF, in conjunction with the Egyptian organiers, should have installed a professional organiser in Cairo well before the start of the championships to ensure that most of the problems that arose were corrected prior to the first day. David Finch
 

Cairo 11th September 2005. RIVALS MEET IN WORLD FINAL. Osaka 2003 world silver medallist, Craig Fallon (left throwing today with kata guruma) of Britain and 2004  European champion Ludwig Paischer of Austria met in the super-lightweight (60kgs) final here in Cairo. For most of the last two years Fallon has avoided Paischer who has capitalised on Fallon's absence with the European title in 2004 and a silver this year. The strategy was devised by his coach, Fitzroy Davies (left with Fallon), who sent Fallon to train in Japan during last year's Europeans in readiness for Athens and even put him up a weight to avoid Fallon meeting Paischer at the British Open. This year Fallon did not compete in the Europeans for the second year and watched Paischer win the silver from the sidelines. The only competition where both could have met was at Paris in February. There Fallon, who won a bronze, was stopped from reaching the final by Tatsuaki Egusa of Japan who then lost the gold to Paischer. However, in Cairo Fallon easily eliminated Egusa with a hold for ippon. Davies' risky strategy was not tested in Athens when both Fallon and Paischer went out in the early rounds but a year later both proved to be the best in the world when they reached the final in Cairo. The margin of Fallon's superiority was just enough to win the title and prove the worthiness of the Fitzroy Davies strategy.

In the other categories seventeen year old Yanet Bermoy (above right) of Cuba defeated Frederique Jossinet of France in the 48kgs final. In the men's open Dennis Van der Geest (right) of Holland at last proved to be the best in the World when he threw Tamerlan Tmenov of Russia with osotogari for ippon in the final. In the women's open Britain's Karina Bryant won her second silver medal of the championships when she lost to Midori Shintani (middle right) of Japan in the final.  David Finch. Captioned pictures will follow soon.

Women 48kgs G: Y Bermoy CUB, S: F Jossinet FRA, B: S Haddad ALG and A Dumitru ROM.
Men 60kgs G: C Fallon GBR, S: L Paischer AUT, B: N Shikhalizada AZE and N S Cho KOR
Women Open G: M Shintani JPN, S: K Bryant GBR, B: C Uilenhoed NED and A S Mondiere FRA
Men Open G: D Van der Geest NED, S: T Tmenov RUS, B: J Rybak BLR and Y Takai JPN
 

Cairo, Saturday 10th September 2005. TWO WINS TO ONE IN THIRD FINAL MEETING. Extraordinarily Sun Hui Kye (left) of North Korea and Yvonne Boenisch of Germany met for the third time in three years in the World's most prestigious finals. In 2003 at Osaka Kye, who first won a major title at the 1996 Olympics when she defeated Ryoko Tamura in the 48kgs division, defeated Yvonne Boenisch of Germany for the first time and 57kgs gold medal. In 2001 she had also won gold at the Munich Worlds at 52kgs. At Athens Boenisch reversed the roles and defeated Kye, a hardened communist who wore the North Korean flag at the Atlanta medal ceremony, with taiotoshi for a yuko. Today Kye's score was more convincing when she upended Boenisch with uchimata for ippon in the above sequence. This time, though, Boenisch did not break her elbow as she had done in 2003 in the Osaka final.
Interestingly, Kye's semi-final match against Yurisle Lupetey resulted in the Cuban being stretched off with almost the exact same break to her elbow that Boenisch suffered in Osaka. One spectator who saw the throw at close quarters, Rusty Kanokogi of the IJF, said "That when force met force, something had to give. Kye was determined to throw Lupetey through the mat but the Cuban was not going to give away a score resulting in her elbow giving way while attempting to avoid an ippon loss".
Bonisch's broken elbow of two years earlier and Lupetey's made no difference to her approach to the contest, it was her knee operation last November that prevented her being completely fit. It also meant that she missed many of the training camps and European competitions and made her approach the contest a little hesitantly. Immediately, Kye upended Boenisch and it was only her frighteningly outstretched arm that avoided a score. Kye's next attack resulted in ippon and her second emphatic defeat of Boenisch. The other titles went to Ying Li (right) of China at 52kgs and Joao Derly Jnr (lower right) of Brazil at 66kgs. At 73kgs, Akos Braun (lower left) of Hungary added the 73kgs World title to his European gold of May.
52kgs G: Ying Li CHN, S: Yuki Yokosawa JPN, B: Telma Monteiro POR and Kum Ae An PRK.
57kgs G: S H Kye PRK, S: Y Boenisch GER, B: K Erdenet-Od MGL and S Filmoser AUT
66kgs G: J D Junior BRA, S: M Uchishiba JPN, B: M Ugvari HUN and A Miresmaili IRI
73kgs G: A Braun HUN, S: F Bruyere ITA, B: G Bilodid UKR and K Uematsu ESP
 

6th September 2005: Park Re-Elected World Judo President

In the midst of a business mess in Korea, Park Yong-sung was re-elected president of the International Judo Federation (IJF) for a third straight time at its general assembly in Cairo, Egypt, Monday.      Park earned 100 votes in the ballot, beating Marius L.Vizer of Romania, president of the European Judo Union, who earned 85 votes for the job, which lasts four years.  Park, chairman of Doosan Group and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has kept the job for the last 10 years, first taking office in September 1995. He was reelected in 2001. The election also secured his status as an IOC member. In South Korea, IOC memberships are held only by Park and Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee. SOURCE Korea Times

4th September 2005: Doosan Chairman Faces Tough Judo Election Fight
      Doosan Group chairman Park Yong-sung (left) will find out Tuesday morning whether he will be serving a third consequetive term as president of the International Judo Federation (IJF) after an election in Cairo, Egypt.        Park, 64, who is concurrently chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and is a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), will be running against Judo Europe Federation president Marius Vizer. Although the Judo Union of Asia pledged Park a vote of confidence despite the ongoing accounting fraud and slush fund scandals surrounding Doosan Group, it remains to be seen whether the Korean business tycoon would be able to keep both posts in the IJF and IOC. Vizer, a Romanian casino and cigarette mogul supported by European IJF members, is mobilizing his cash to campaign against Park and is reportedly highlighting the scandals embroiling Doosan Group that exposed Park’s fight with brother Yong-oh, who was forced to quit as chairman of the nation’s 10^th largest chaebol after losing a bitter fight management control.  However, as Doosan Group’s irregularities have been committed before the current Doosan chairman took charge of the conglomerate, it is uncertain how much damage Vizer can do to Park’s reputation. Park Yong-sung is currently the target of a barrage of criticism from civic activist groups that call on the industrialist to resign from various key posts, including the chairman’s position at the KCCI. At the moment, he appears to be capably defending his presidency thanks to a number of innovative accomplishments that contributed to the worldwide popularity of Judo during his second term, including the adoption of a blue uniform, or ``Judogi.’’  Park has an advantage over Vizer if African Judo Union president Lassana Palenfo and other non-European IJF members side with him. The IJF presidential election result is expected to influence the fate of Park in maintaining his other titles in various high-profile posts. Park holds titles in more than 60 organizations both at home and abroad. Last Friday, the prosecution conducted a search and seizure into Doosan Industrial Development, a core Doosan Group subsidiary at the center of the corporate corruption scandal, and confiscated 20 boxes of documents. The prosecution also said that it is tracing roughly 100 bank accounts of Doosan Group subsidiaries. Meanwhile Park Yong-oh will also find out if he still has a job as the chairperson of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit 2005 Thursday. On Thursday, the Federation of Korean Industries will convene its regular monthly conglomerate chairman assembly, in which they will determine whether Park will serve as chairman of the APEC CEO Summit. Park also serves as the head of the Korea-Taiwan Economic Cooperation Committee.
By Kim Sung-jin, Staff Reporter Korea Times
 

24 August 2005  SYDNEY - "XXXX" MARTIN KELLY AT CAIRO WORLDS. Ahead of his third world judo championships, Maitland Olympian Martin Kelly (left, attacking Kosie Inoue JPN at Athens with kata-guruma) says he's enjoying one of his most relaxed preparations for a major tournament. But it could have something to do with the fact he wasn't actually planning to compete. Kelly pulled out of one of the selection trials for the event because of growing work commitments and resigned himself to not being part of the Australian judo team that will compete in Cairo, Egypt on September 8. He obviously did enough to impress national selectors and has been busy juggling an eight-hour working day and a rushed training regime in pursuit of a good showing in Cairo.  "I am taking it more as it comes (because it was unexpected)," Kelly said. "It's probably been my most relaxed build up, which hopefully might make for a better result."  For Kelly, his preparation has included travelling to Sydney for training sessions along with his own weight and cardio training. But it's all squeezed around his full-time position at Hunter brewery, Bluetongue. Kelly completed his Masters degree in Chemistry in 2004 and his knowledge has quickly been put to use in overseeing the technical aspects of production at the new brewery. "My waistline hasn't increased since I started working there, so that's good," he said.  While wary of Japanese Olympic open champion, Keiji Suzuki, Kelly is not looking beyond his first-round opponent.  "There's 50 in my weight division so I won't be looking further than the first round," he said. "That's who you do your planning around, you never look further because that's when you get beaten."  Kelly is not looking beyond next month's world championships, with the 32-year-old coming to terms with juggling a full-time career and an ageing body.  Kelly flies out for Cairo on September 3, with the championships due to start on September 8. SOURCE: Judoinside
 

8th August BRAUNSCHWEIG, GERMANY - Canadian judoka Michelle Buckingham (left) from Montreal won four of her five bouts Saturday on her way to a silver medal in the Under-57 kg event of the European Judo Union "B" Tournament in Braunschweig, Germany.  This competition was the last prior to the World Championships next month in Cairo, Egypt. The 36 year-old athlete only lost the title bout by a pair of wazari to Inga Golaszewska of Poland. No less than 25 athletes were competing in this category and Buckingham especially shined in her semi-final encounter with Yvonne Bonisch of Germany, the defending Olympic champion. "This is a big win for Michelle and it re-establishes herself as a wild card going into the World Championships, she demonstrated that she can still beat top level athletes. This win will give Michelle the needed confidence going into the World Championships," says Ewan Beaton, Judo Canada's Coaches' coordinator. Michelle Buckingham first defeated Swenja Krosien of Germany, Hari Samantha of Switzerland and Elizabeth Christiaanse of the Netherlands prior to her match against Bonisch, (above right) whom she defeated within two minutes with te-guruma. SOURCE: Judoinside.com