PRLog (Press Release) – Nov 24, 2010

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – American and world judo champion Kayla Harrison, who fights out of the Boston area, dominated her competition at the Grand Prix-Abu Dhabi today, winning a gold medal.

Harrison was not scored upon during the tournament and remains the number one ranked judo player in the world. This is her first Grand Prix gold medal, though she has won gold at five World Cup events in 2010.

The American received a bye in the first round, and faced Aubrey Koumba of Gabon in the second round. She used juji gatame – a straight arm lock – to force her opponent to submit.

She then squared off with Poland’s Daria Pogorzelec of Poland in the quarter final. Harrison threw Pogorzelec in the first exchange for a small score. However, in the ensuing fight, Pogorzelec attempted an illegal leg grab, and was disqualified.

In the semi-final, Harrison fought the powerful Audrey Tcheumeo of France. Tcheumeo had defeated Harrison at the Rotterdam Grand Prix last month. However, this time, Harrison proved victorious, downing the Frenchwoman with a sweeping hip throw in overtime.

“When I found out I was going to fight her, my coach and I went back over and looked at video of our previous match,” Harrison said. “He gave me step by step instructions on what he wanted me to do and told me that it was going to come down to who wanted to win the match more.”

Harrison said that her strategy was to put pressure on Tcheumeo, to tire her out physically and mentally. The moment to strike finally came in overtime, when Kayla scored a throw for the win.

“I hate losing so revenge felt good,” Harrison said. “But Tcheumeo is a really good, tough competitor and it felt good to know that I can beat her.”

"Kayla proved why she is World Champion today,” Jimmy Pedro, her coach and himself a former world champion and two-time Olympic bronze medalist, said. “After getting beat by Tchuemeo at the Rotterdam Grand Prix in October, Kayla mentally got up for her semifinal rematch against the Frenchwoman to prove she is the best in the weight class."

Harrison then fought Zhehui Zhang of China in the final. She defeated her opponent by a narrow margin, decided when she scored with a ko uchi makikomi – a minor inside reaping throw. This secured Harrison the gold medal and a $5,000 prize.

Harrison said it has been a tough but satisfying year. “After the world championships, we’ve been extremely busy with the team traveling and training, so I haven’t really had time to catch my breath,” Harrison said. “But I’ve won hardware at just about every event, and that’s definitely a good trend heading toward the Olympics.”

Harrison’s coach said he has been pushing her non-stop since the world championships and using these events as training sessions to help her improve. “Her ability to win gold here, despite not being in peak condition for the event, demonstrates that she can beat anyone when she sets her mind to it.”

"I am extremely happy for Kayla,” Pedro said. “She deserves everything she earns, and I am sure she isn't disappointed with the $5,000 bonus money either!"

Harrison will now head to Japan for training before competing in the Grand Slam – Tokyo on Dec. 11 – 13.