|
|
Monday, September 18
Pedro can't recover from stunning loss
SYDNEY, Australia -- Coming in favored for the gold, world
champion Jimmy Pedro of the United States came away empty-handed
after a shocking first-round loss to an unknown South Korean Monday
at the Olympics.
Pedro of Lawrence, Mass., captured the 1999 world title in the
73-kilogram class and was 81-3 in his last four years. He was also
the 1996 bronze medalist.
But he wasn't feeling quite right and was shocked in his first
match against South Korea's Choi Yong-sin, who never won a major
title and most notable achievement was a third in the world juniors
four years ago.
After losing, Pedro had to battle back through four rounds of
repechages -- or second chances -- to earn the right to battle for
the bronze against semifinal loser, Anatoly Laryukov of Belarus.
Laryukov scored a late takedown to beat Pedro and take the
bronze.
The first-round match against Choi that put Pedro out of
contention for the gold did not go well. No scoring moves were
executed and both were penalized for non-combativeness.
With 48 seconds left, Pedro was penalized for an illegal grip,
giving Choi another scoring point. Pedro tried to counter in the
final seconds but could not throw Choi.
Pedro said he didn't feel right from he start. "I don't know
why. I just don't feel right," Pedro said after the match.
"Jimmy couldn't get started," said American coach Steve Cohen.
"It just didn't happen. The last time he beat him by a full
point."
Pedro had to win four straight bouts to have a chance to win a
bronze. He even had to face 1996 gold medalist Kenzo Nakamura of
Japan, like Pedro, another champion who lost before the final
losing to Choi.
Against Nakamura both men were penalized for passivity. But
Pedro threw Nakamura with 1:23 left to advance and he went into the
final repechage against Michel Almedia of Portugal, which Pedro
won.
However, Pedro lost his chance for the bronze medal.
Giuseppe Maddaloni of Italy won the men's event over Tiago
Camilo of Brazil, exciting the crowd with a front flip after he
scored the winning throw.
Choi, like Pedro, lost a chance for the bronze as Latvia's
Vsevolods Zelonijs took the third-place bout.
In the women's 57 kg event Isabel Fernandez of Spain, won the
gold defeating Driulys Gonzalez of Cuba in the title match. Kie
Kusakabe, Japan, and Maria Pekli, Australia, shared the bronze.
Fernandez won the 57 kg class at the 1997 world championships
and took the silver last year.
|  | |
ALSO SEE
Japan wins the first two medals in judo
|
