On day five, we won our first medal, a bronze by Ronda Rousey at 70 kg.
She was 5-1 on the day, losing only in the quarters to Edith Bocsh of the Netherlands in a thrilling overtime battle. Rousey had beaten Bocsh in their previous matchup, which was in the semis of the 2007 worlds in Rio.
This was the first official medal for the U.S. women's team since the sport was added to the Olympics in 1992. It was a demonstration sport at the 1988 Games in Seoul, Korea, where the U.S. captured two medals in an abbreviated program.
So far, the U.S. Judo Team has enjoyed a very successful and competitive Olympics, which of course bodes well for the future. Four-time Olympian Brian Olson also competed on day five, losing his opening 90 kg bout to Diego Rosatti of Argentina in overtime when he received a shido (penalty) for stalling in the sudden death extra period and was eliminated.
On day six, Adler Volmar stepped onto to the mat for the U.S. and lost to veteran Amel Mekic of Bosnia. Friday is the last day for judo, and we will have Dan McCormick going for the U.S. with a good draw.
On the way back from day six of competition, I got talking with one of my judo friends from Argentina who competed here in the 81 kg weight class and I mentioned to him how much I enjoy tennis. He invited me back to the Argentina house in the Olympic Village and led me to a room where his Argentine tennis friends, David Nalbandian, Juan Monaco and Agustin Calleri, along with Rafael Nadal of Spain, were playing video soccer.
It was just as if my Jason Morris Judo Center boys back in Glenville were playing, as they were shouting at each other and throwing the controller after a bad play and having a great time. I read in the Olympic Village magazine that Nadal was doing that as he wanted to be able to relax and have fun away from the Spanish house, where people kept bothering him for photos and interviews.
The tennis boys were kind enough to speak with me a bit and take a photo as they wished my judo team the best and I did the same for their team.
USA Judo Team head coach Jason Morris is also posting photos to accompany his blog in the gallery "Olympic Experience". You can view the latest photos by clicking here, or view the entire gallery by clicking here.
For more on the USA Judo Team, go to the USA Judo Web site at usjudo.org.
