Member News

April 14, 2007

Reser Wins Silver Medal at Swiss Open

Ryan Reser (far left) receives a silver medal in the 73kg division.

Ryan Reser (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center / 73kg) won the first medal for an American male at an EJU B-Level Tournament this year on Saturday when he took a silver at the Swiss Open in Lucerne.

Reser earned the first of five wins against former British National Champion Craig Ewers who he threw for a waza-ari (half-point) with a kata guruma (fireman’s carry).

The American’s next three wins all came by ippon (instant win) as he threw his next series of opponents in a combined time of 54 seconds with the longest of the matches lasting 26 seconds.

Reser threw Raphael De Moliner (SUI) with a harai goshi (hip throw) before throwing Meseguer Laurent (FRA) and Romaric Gaudemer (FRA) each with a te guruma (scooping throw).

In the semifinal, Reser beat Nicolas Mussard (FRA) by a shido (penalty) to advance to the final against Marco Maddaloni (ITA), a two-time European U-23 Champion and three-time Italian National Champion.

Maddaloni threw Reser with a reverse kata guruma to score a waza-ari and win the match. 

Reser’s silver medal also marks his return to the #1 U.S. ranking in the division after three weeks as the #2, giving the three-time World Cup medalist the top seed at the USA Judo Senior National Championships, April 20-21 in Miami, Fla.

Reser's 2006 Pan Am Teammate Aaron Cohen (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / NYAC / Cohen's Judo / 81kg) will compete at the Swiss Open on Sunday.