Member News

August 30, 2007

World Championships to Include 776 Players from 129 Nations  

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – The organizers of the 2007 World Championships recently announced that the event, being held Sept. 13-16 in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil , will be one of the largest Worlds in recent history with 776 judo players scheduled to participate from 129 countries. 

European countries represent the largest contingent of players with 45 delegations expected to attend, followed by Asia with 31 delegations. 

A total of 467 men and 307 women’s will compete in 16 weight divisions, including the non-Olympic Open weight division.  Men's 81kg is expected to be the largest division with 73 competitors.

In addition to having the title of World Champion on the line, athletes also will be looking to qualify slots for their country’s participation in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing as countries placing in the top six in each weight division will receive automatic berths to Beijing. 

Team USA will send a full squad of 16 players to the Worlds.  The team will be coached by Jason Morris (Glenville, N.Y. ) and Israel Hernandez (Harlingen, Texas).  

A complete roster of U.S. athletes competing in the World Championships is as follows: 

Women

48kg:     Jeanette Rodriguez (Coral Springs, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami)

52kg:     Carrie Chandler (Glenville, N.Y. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)

57kg:     Valerie Gotay (Harlingen, Texas / USA Judo National Training Site at Harlingen)

63kg:     Marti Malloy (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University )

70kg:     Ronda Rousey (Wakefield, Mass. / NYAC / USA Judo National Team FORCE)

78kg:     Marina Lambert (Chesapeake, Va. / Washington Judo)

+78kg:   Asma Sharif (Wakefield, Mass. / USA Judo National Team FORCE)

Open:     Heidi Moore (Englewood, Colo. / Denver Judo)

Men

60kg:     Taraje Williams-Murray ( Bronx , N.Y. / NYAC / Spartak Sports Club)

66kg:     Justin Flores ( Glenville , N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center

73kg:     Ryan Reser ( Colorado Springs , Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center )

81kg:     Travis Stevens ( Glenville , N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center )

90kg:     Rick Hawn ( Wakefield , Mass. / USA Judo National Team FORCE)

100kg:    Adler Volmar ( Coral Springs , Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami )

+100kg:  Kirk Hoffmann ( Colorado Springs , Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center )

Open:      Djamaldin Aliev ( Greenwood Village , Colo. / Denver Judo)