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June 12, 2008    

2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Judo Heavyweight Men’s Preview

(Las Vegas, Nev.) – The men’s heavyweight divisions will be held at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Judo on Friday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

A preview of the men’s heavyweight divisions is as follows:

Men’s 100kg

Adler Volmar (blue) and Shintaro Higashi (white) fought at the 2007 Senior Nationals.

Adler Volmar (Coral Springs, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at

North Miami) competed on the 1996 Olympic Games on the team for Haiti and now the top-ranked player in the United States will attempt to qualify for his first U.S. Olympic Team, but injuries may stand in his way. A 2007 World and Pan Am Team member, Volmar underwent knee surgery in February and hasn’t competed since, but is hoping to be back in top form in Las Vegas.

Second seed Christian Aarona (Waimanalo, Hawaii / Makiki Seidokan Judo Club) also has been hampered by torn ligaments sustained during the European Tour in February, but threw Volmar for ippon en route to winning bronze at the U.S. Open last year – Aarona’s first tournament after coming out of retirement to make a bid for his first Olympic Team.

Two of the top candidates for the Team will fight in the first round – 2004 Olympic Team alternate Michael Barnes (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University) and two-time World Team member Djamaldin Aliev (Greenwood Village, Colo. / Denver Judo / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center). Aliev had one of the best matches of his career when he beat Barnes in the final of the Senior Nationals in April – Barnes’ first major event since retiring after the 2004 Trials.

Qualifiers at 100kg
1. Adler Volmar (Coral Springs, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami)
2. Christian Aarona (Waimanalo, Hawaii / Makiki Seidokan Judo Club)
3. Djamaldin Aliev (Greenwood Village, Colo. / Denver Judo / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)
4. Dariusz Mikolajczak (Brooklyn, N.Y. / NYAC / Legrosports Starrett)
5. Shintaro Higashi (Scarsdale, N.Y. / NYAC Kokushi Budo Institute)
6. Michael Barnes (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
7. Victor Jean-Baptiste (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Mushakan Dojo)
8. Brian Picklo (Mustang, Okla. / USA Stars)

Men’s +100kg

Anthony Turner (blue) fought defeated Joel Brutus (white) at the 2007 Senior Nationals.

Anthony Turner (Miami, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami) competed in the 2004 Trials but lost in the finals. This time, however, Turner has the advantage of a top seed as well as having never lost to the #2 and #3-ranked players Daniel McCormick (Wakefield, Mass. / USA Judo National Team FORCE) and Kirk Hoffmann (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center).

Turner was upset, however, in the finals of the Senior Nationals by Jonathan Leonhardt (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University) who will be bidding for his first Olympic team and could face Turner in the semifinals.

Both Hoffmann and McCormick are former #1 players who could challenge Turner as well.

One of the most surprising entrants into the division is 54-year-old James “Brewster” Thompson (Las Vegas, Nev. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University) – a 1975 World Team member and eight-time National Championships medalist. Thompson, a #6 seed, came out of retirement in 2007 and upset Leonhardt at the U.S. Open in October en route to placing fifth and qualifying for the Trials.

Qualifiers at +100kg
1. Anthony Turner (Miami, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami)
2. Daniel McCormick (Wakefield, Mass. / USA Judo National Team FORCE)
3. Kirk Hoffmann (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)
4. Jonathan Leonhardt (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
5. Derek Alef (Santa Barbara, Calif. / Santa Ynez Valley Judo)
6. James “Brewster” Thompson (Las Vegas, Nev. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
7. Conor Driscoll (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
8. Michael Prieditis (Fayetteville, N.C.)