Judo Videos: Kayla Harrison Discusses Her Judo History Prior to Winning Olympic Gold!
Watch an exclusive interview video filmed prior to what would turn out to be Kayla Harrison's history-making, gold-medal-winning judo performance at the 2012 Olympic Games!
Twenty-two year-old Kayla Harrison stunned the world this summer by earning a gold medal in judo at the London Olympics. That in itself would be an accomplishment worthy of a story in Black belt. However, her accomplishment is grander than its face value. Kayla Harrison, through her judo gold-medal victory in London, became the first American — man or woman — to win gold in Olympic judo competition. In short, she made history. You may remember that Black Belt ran a story on Kayla Harrison in its April 2011 issue and published an online judo video featuring her demonstration of ouchi gari (major inner reaping throw). Well, we were introduced to her by none other than four-time Olympian and two-time bronze-medal winner Jimmy Pedro Jr. — perhaps the winningest judo coach in history, having trained at least eight judoka to the elite skill level necessary for Olympic Games entry. Among these judoka were none other than 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Ronda Rousey — and, of course, now gold medalist Kayla Harrison.
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In this exclusive interview video filmed during the setup for the December 2010 photo shoot for her first Black Belt feature story in the April 2011 issue, Kayla Harrison shared with us a quick rundown of her judo history as she prepared for what would turn out to be her history-making performance at the 2012 Olympic Games!