PHOTO BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
United States’ Kayla Harrison celebrates after defeating France’s Audrey Tcheumeo in the women’s 78-kg judo gold medal match.
By Harold Rivera
Local ties were carried proudly on the grandest stage in judo when Americans Kayla Harrison and Travis Stevens brought Olympic medals back to the United States.
On Tuesday, Stevens won silver in the men’s 81-kilogram judo contest. On Thursday, Harrison, who resides in Marblehead, won gold in the women’s 78-kilogram judo event.
Harrison and Stevens both train at Pedro’s Judo Center in Wakefield, a dojo owned by Lynn natives Jimmy Pedro and his father, “Big Jim” Pedro. Jimmy Pedro won bronze medals in judo in both the 1996 and 2004 Summer Olympics. His father, “Big Jim,” is a 1975 Pan American bronze medalist. They both remain active in judo through owning the dojo and coaching Olympians like Harrison and Stevens.
The dojo is managed by Lynn native Riley McIlwain, who has worked closely with Harrison and Stevens at Pedro’s. McIlwain spoke with high regards on the success of the two medalists.
“Words can’t describe what happened in Brazil,” McIlwain said. “I can’t explain how proud we are of Kayla and Travis and their accomplishments. We saw history in American sports and I don’t think we’ll ever see this again. It was absolutely incredible.”
Harrison, who also won gold in the 2012 Olympics in London, became the first American to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in judo.
McIlwain touched on Harrison’s work ethic, which he’s witnessed firsthand.
“Kayla’s a workhorse,” McIlwain said. “She’s training 2-4 times a day, 5-6 days a week. Every round she’s looking to dominate. She’s the definition of a workhorse athlete. She’s dedicated and never misses a practice, ever. I’ve seen her come to the dojo straight from formal events ready to go.”
The 2012 Olympics weren’t as exciting for Stevens, who came up short of winning the bronze medal after losing to Brazil’s Tiago Camilo. Stevens lost in the semifinal to Germany’s Ole Bischof after a ten-minute long match was decided by the judges.
“It was heartbreaking,” McIlwain recalled. “Every single feeling overcomes you and Travis was just breaking down on the mat. Jimmy had to virtually drag him back to the mat to get him ready for the bronze match.”
When it was made official that Stevens was going to be competing for a medal in Rio, the dojo’s staff organized a viewing party for the young judokas in the center’s kids camp.
“We wanted the kids to watch Travis do his thing,” McIlwain said. “He went out there and just dominated. I wasn’t expecting the kids to be as excited as they were. They were counting down the clock and recognizing pins from class.”
He added, “Travis had a hard road in Rio and that silver medal was good as gold. We had people cheering like they were watching the Super Bowl.”
On Thursday, the viewing party reconvened to watch Harrison defend her gold medal. The fans at the dojo were excited for her too.
“Everyone knows Kayla’s the golden girl,” McIlwain said. “She’s a superstar. People today were really excited because even if she took a medal it would’ve been history. People were yelling, screaming and crying. It’s really moving. I can’t think of two more deserving athletes.”
McIlwain said that Harrison and Stevens have shined light on the sport and hopes that people who are interested will give it a try.
“They put judo on the map,” he said. “Kayla did it when she went to London. She showed that if we put the time and energy into the sport we can have champions. I see the sport picking up and getting people invested in it. Judo is a sport that anybody can do.”
As for the reaction at the dojo after the two stars won medals, McIlwain said the young judokas found a sense of excitement for the sport that brought them all together.
“After today we’re going to have a lot of new motivated judokas running around,” he said. “These kids were so invested in Kayla and Travis. You had kids jumping up and down and they understood what was happening. It was incredible to see this dojo come together as a family.”