Road to Gold
Who: Kayla Harrison
What: Women’s Judo, 78 kg division
When: Thursday
Where: ExCel London
Schedule
6 a.m. — Round of 16 vs. Vera Muskalyuk, Russia
6:45 a.m. — Quarterfinals
9 a.m. — Semifinals
11 a.m. — Gold Medal match (will be shown tape-delayed at 4:30 p.m. on MSNBC)
NOTE: Times are EST
International Judo Federation World Rankings
Women’s 78kg
1. Mayra Aguiar, Brazil*
2. Kayla Harrison, USA
3. Audrey Tcheumeo, France
4. Akari Ogata, Japan
5. Lkhamdesd Purevsargal, Mongolia
6. Xiuli Yang, China^
7. Abigel Joo, Hungary
8. Heidi Wollert, Germany
9. Amy Cotton, Canada
10. Marhinde Verkerk, Netherlands
* Reigning world champion
^ 2008 Olympic champion
Source: IJF
Middletown native Kayla Harrison attended the Beijing Games as a training partner for eventual bronze medalist Ronda Rousey.
Now she wants one of her own judo medals.
Harrison is in action today in the 78-kilogram division (172 pounds), and coach Jimmy Pedro is predicting a podium finish for the world No. 2. If she reaches the top of the podium, Harrison would become the first U.S. judo athlete — male or female — to win Olympic gold.
Pedro describes Harrison’s fight draw as “matter of fact.”
Harrison, the world champion in 2010, has a bye into the second round where she will face world No. 16 Russian Vera Muskalyuk. Pedro didn’t think it would be an easy match, but said it would give Harrison a good feel for competing on the Olympic mat.
If Harrison can move on, she likely would face world No. 7 Hungarian Abigel Joo in the quarterfinals. Pedro thought it would be a hard fight, but Harrison has been preparing specifically for how to win against Joo.
A possible semifinal bout against world No. 1 Mayra Aguiar from Brazil looms in the semifinals; the two have split victories in recent years.
“The winner of this match is likely to win it all, and I like our odds,” Pedro said.
The gold-medal match is set for 11 a.m. EST today.
Since Judo became an Olympic sport in 1992, only two U.S. women — Rousey and Marti Maloy — have won medals. Maloy took bronze in the 57-kilogram (125.7 pounds) division earlier this week.
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