Member News
October 12, 2006
Jeanette Rodriguez Finishes Fifth at Junior Worlds
Sixteen-year-old Jeanette Rodriguez (Margate, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site / 48kg) was one of Team USA’s top prospects for a trip to the medal rounds at the Junior World Championships on Thursday in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The 2006 Pan Am Juvenile gold medalist lived up to everyone’s expectations, finishing fifth on Thursday in a division that included not only some of the best juniors in the world, but the 2005 Senior World Champion as well.
Rodriguez showed little sign of her young age as she won her first match against hometown athlete Merys Mejia (DOM), taking Mejia to the mat where she put her in sankaku (triangle hold) to win the match by ippon (instant win). The second round was short-lived as Rodriguez threw Shelimar Brisyo (PUR) in 33 seconds with a left seoi nage (shoulder throw) for ippon.
The quarter-final would prove to be the first of two golden score (overtime) matches as Alexandra Podryadova (KAZ) went to throw Rodriguez who countered with a drop seoi nage (dropping shoulder throw) to score the yuko (quarter-point) needed to advance to the semifinals.
In a unique format where both the semi and final matches take place in the evening, Rodriguez again went into golden score against Shugen Wu (CHN), a two-time Asian Junior medalist. As the total match time creeped over eight minutes, Wu caught Rodriguez with a left seoi nage for yuko and the win.
“I made a stupid mistake in my match against China. I was fighting really well and I thought I was going to beat her, but she just got underneath me and I got thrown,” Rodriguez said.
With barely 10 minutes to prepare for the bronze medal match, Rodriguez would fight Shoko Ibe who had the unenviable task of fighting her way back through the repechage after a first-round loss to earn the right to compete for bronze.
They say fighting through the repechage from start to finish is one of the hardest things to do at a tournament, but Ibe, a fifth-place finisher at the 2005 Sofia Senior World Cup, didn’t shy from the challenge, winning each of her next three matches by ippon before fighting the American.
Rodriguez, known for her aggressiveness on the mat, lacked her usual attacking flair and was Ibe’s fourth victim of the day, getting thrown for ippon just over a minute into the match.
“Japan had really good grips and she attacked a lot. We were getting toward out of bounds so I couldn’t move around much when she caught me with a really really low harai goshi (sweeping hip throw),” she said. “I just kept thinking ‘Oh my God… Land on your stomach, land on your stomach,’ but I was too low and just couldn’t get over, so she got the full point.”
Rodriguez, who recently took over the top position on the U.S. Senior Roster after winning the Senior Nationals in April and taking a silver medal at the Rendez-Vous Canada two weeks ago, has rapidly become one of the top junior athletes in the United States under the guidance of Junior Worlds Coaches German Velazco (Coral Springs, Fla.) and Jhonny Prado (Coral Springs, Fla.), both of whom are her hometown coaches at the North Miami USA Judo National Training Site. As she is only sixteen, Rodriguez will be eligible to compete in a second Junior Worlds in 2008.
“Jeanette fought pretty well today. All of her fights were even and so now she knows what she’s up against,” Prado said. “Her level of competition is right there with those girls, we just need to work on a few things so we’ll expect a lot in the next two years.”
If going through repeated overtime matches is a rough way to fight a tournament, the only thing more difficult is finishing a regulation period and golden score and still be tied at which time the referees must bring out flags to signify the winner of the match. This was the surprise ending of the day for 2005 Senior World Champion Yanet Bermoy (CUB) who won the gold medal over Wu by decision.
Fifteen-year-old Franchesca Durand (Coral Springs, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site) produced one of the day’s upsets at 52kg, throwing 2006 Asian Junior silver medalist Hui-Shan Hsiao (TPE) with a left o uchi gari (major inner reaping) for a waza-ari (half-point).
Durand lasted a full five minutes with Yamilka Del Valle (CUB) before getting thrown in golden score for a koka (smallest points). Del Valle lost in the quarter-finals, though, eliminating Durand from the tournament.
“I know we were kind of worried about Cuba because they’re always tough, but Franchesca looked really good with that girl and she’s right on the same level,” Prado said.
In the men’s heavyweight division, Aaron Shiosaki (Lomita, Calif. / Gardena Judo) lost in the opening seconds of one of his first major international events, getting thrown for ippon by Lukas Stupavsky (SVK) with a drop seoi nage (dropping shoulder throw).
Tomorrow, competition continues with the women’s 57kg and 63kg divisions as well as the men’s 90kg and 100kg divisions.
Athens Olympian Ronda Rousey (Santa Monica, Calif. / NYAC) will attempt to defend her 2004 Junior World title while Hannah Martin (Burnt Hills, N.Y. / Jason Morris Judo Center / 57kg), Jake Larsen (Santa Rosa, Calif. / Redwood Judo / 90kg) and Zane Malloy (Oak Harbor, Wash. / NAS Whidbey Island Judo / 100kg) will each compete in their first Junior Worlds.
Complete results are as follows:
Women's 48kg
1. Yanet Bermoy (CUB)
2. Shugen Wu (CHN)
3. Shoko Ibe (JPN)
3. Alexandra Podryadova (KAZ)
5. Jeanette Rodriguez (Margate, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site)
5. Glynis Rojot (NED)
7. Elisabet Schoenstein (AUT)
7. Valentina Moscatt (ITA)
Women's 52kg
1. Moe Kawasaki (JPN)
2. Maureen Groefsema (NED)
3. Anhush Hakobyan (ARM)
3. Maria Garcia (DOM)
5. Lucie Chytra (CZE)
5. Natalia Kuzyutina (RUS)
7. Yoo Ra Kang (KOR)
7. Yamilka Del Valle (CUB)
Men's +100kg
1. Teddy Riner (FRA)
2. Stanislav Bondarenko (UKR)
3. Tino Bierau (GER)
3. Dmitry Sterkhov (RUS)
5. Ryuta Ishii (JPN)
5. Sung Min Kim (KOR)
7. Aliaksand (BLR)
7. Rafael Silva (BRA)
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