Member News

September 16, 2006

Women's World Team Championships Completed Pool Sheets

Gotay Defeats Russia and Japan at World Team Championships

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Valerie Gotay (Harlingen, Texas / Harlingen USA Judo National Training Site / 57kg) knew going into the World Championships by Team of Nation on Saturday that she was at a disadvantage.

Not only would she be competing with her U.S. teammates against some of the top athletes in the world, but she would have to balance this tournament with next week’s Rendez-Vous Canada in Montreal – the first event of the fall season that also will feature an international contingent and traditionally makes a significant impact on domestic elite rankings. 

Not one to back down from a challenge, Gotay and Team USA arrived in Paris on Thursday and soon discovered that they would be fighting Japan, one of the top-ranked teams in the world in the first round.

For Gotay, that meant an opening match against Aiko Sato – the 2002 Junior World Champion.  Sato, a former 52kg player, has since moved up to 57kg and is a four-time World Cup medalist, including a bronze medal win at the Warsaw World Cup in May. 

Gotay, best known for her groundwork, took Sato to the mat and pinned her for a waza-ari (half-point) that looked like it would go the full 25 seconds for an ippon (instant win), but Sato managed to escape in the last few seconds to continue the match. 

Although she avoided the ippon, Sato could not score against Gotay during the rest of the match and took the loss. 

“My match against Japan kind of surprised me,” Gotay said. “I felt physically stronger and I didn’t really feel threatened during the match.

The loss would prove to be the only one of the round for the Japanese as they posted wins over the other six U.S. competitors.

Japan defeated Russia, 5-2, in the quarter-finals to guarantee the United States a second set of matches in the repechage.

This time 20-year-old Ann Shiraishi (Elk Grove, Calif. / Okubo / East Bay Judo Institute) kicked the United States off with an impressive win, throwing her Russian opponent for ippon with a dropping shoulder throw. 

After a loss by 52kg Natalie Lafon (Harlingen, Texas / Harlingen USA Judo National Training Site), Gotay was up again to try and win her second match of the day.

Gotay’s opponent was Ekaterina Melnikova, a three-time World Cup medalist last spring and the seventh-ranked player in the world.

“I felt faster than the Russian, but you always have to be careful fighting Russians because they have different moves that you can get caught with,” Gotay said.

Melnikova never had a chance to score on Gotay who threw the Russian with a tai otoshi to with the match.

“For where we are in my training I’m pleased with how I did this time,” Gotay said. “I’m happy I got two matches in against some tough girls, but it’s definitely going to be hard to come back and go straight into Rendez-Vous next week.”

Team USA finished the round against Russia with a 2-5 record with none of the remaining athletes earning a win.

In other matches, Japan lost to France in the semi-final, but came back to defeat Korea to win the bronze.

Cuba soundly defeated China in the other semi-final, 5-2, even forfeiting the final match as the round had already been won. 

The Chinese, who had previously routed Great Britain with seven wins by ippon, then defeated Slovenia for the bronze. 

The final featured a close series between France and Cuba with a fast, explosive French team winning four matches and tying three more to win the title as the hometown favorites while the Cubans earned a silver medal. 

In addition to Shiraishi, Lafon and Gotay, Team USA included 2006 Senior Nationals silver medalist Kristen Allan (Springfield, Va. / Sport Judo / 63kg), top-ranked junior Katie Sell (Harlingen, Texas / Harlingen USA Judo National Training Site / 70kg), 2005 World Team member Molly O’Rourke (El Cerrito, Calif. / East Bay Judo Institute) and 2006 Junior World Team member Brittni Bradford (Land O’Lakes, Fla. / St. Pete Judo). 

The team was coached by Israel Hernandez (Harlingen, Texas / Harlingen USA Judo National Training Site).  Other delegation members included referees Dr. Gary Berliner (Cumming, Ga.) and Kei Narimatsu (Geneva, Ill.), team manager Devin Cohen (Brooklyn, N.Y.), team trainer Takenari Asanuma (El Cerrito, Calif.) and USA Judo CEO Jose H. Rodriguez (Colorado Springs, Colo.)