Member News

February 23, 2007

Team USA to Compete at Otto Super World Cup this Weekend in Germany

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Seven U.S. judo players will compete on Saturday and Sunday at the Otto Super World Cup in Hamburg, Germany.

Considered one of the most difficult tournaments on the European Tour, this A+ Level event is expected to have more than 500 athletes from 60 countries competing.

Six Olympic Champions, five World Champions and a cadre of past European Champions all will be fighting this weekend, including Tadahiro Nomura (JPN), the Olympic gold medalist in the 60kg division at the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Games.

As the host country, the German team is allowed four competitors in each division and will be taking full advantage with 26 men and 28 women competing.  Among the athletes on this deep squad are Yvonne Boenisch (57kg), the 2004 Olympic Champion and two-time World silver medalist; Annett Boehm (70kg), World and Olympic bronze medalist; Andreas Toelzer (+100kg), 2006 European Champion; Ole Bischof (81kg), 2005 European Champion; Anna Von Harnier (63kg), 2003 World medalist; and Heide Wollert (70kg), the #2-ranked athlete in the world who won this event in 2005 and 2006.

Valerie Gotay (Harlingen, Texas / USA Judo National Training Site at Harlingen / 57kg) is the lone entry for the U.S. women.  Gotay is on her fifth consecutive week of a European Tour that began well with gold medals at the British and Belgian Opens and included wins over past European and World Champion players. 

Although Gotay did not make it to the medal rounds at her last two events, the Paris Super World Cup and the Vienna World Cup, she did pick up key match wins at both events and gained experience against the best athletes in the division which should prove to be valuable here. 

The U.S. men have a mix of experience levels.  Ryan Reser (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center / 73kg) and Justin Flores (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at Jason Morris Judo Center / San Shi / 66kg) are both veterans of the Tour. 

Reser won silver medals at back-to-back World Cups in 2006 while Flores, who took a sabbatical from Europe last year, has made it to the medal rounds of A-Level tournaments as well, finishing fifth at two World Cup events in 2005.

Travis Stevens (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at Jason Morris Judo Center) competed in Europe earlier this year, winning a bronze in the 81kg division at the British Open. 

Nick Kossor (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at Jason Morris Judo Center / 60kg), Dariusz Mikolajczak (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Starrett Sports Club / 90kg) and 1996 Olympian Adler Volmar (Coral Springs, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami / 100kg) also will be competing.

Saturday's divisons include the men's 60kg, 66kg and 73kg and the women's 48kg, 52kg, 57kg and 63kg.

Sunday's divisions include the men's 81kg, 90kg, 100kg and +100kg and the women's 70kg, 78kg and +78kg.