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2011 Miami World Cup - Miami, Florida  U.S.A.

Media Contact:
Ryan John
National Media Manager
USA Judo
ryan_s_john@yahoo.com
720.224.8231

For Immediate Release
June 30, 2011

2011 USA Judo World Cup to Begin Friday
Miami Tournament Attracts Record Number of Athletes, Countries

MIAMI, Fla. – More than 700 of the world‟s best Judo athletes, representing over 50 countries have made their
way to Miami to compete in the 2011 USA Judo World Cup held July 1-2 at the Doral Resort and Spa. Many
consider this year‟s Judo World Cup in Miami, to be the biggest on U.S. soil in over 30 years; if not ever.

With the 2012 Olympics just one-year out, a record number of judokas (one who participates in judo) as well as
a record number of countries are expected to take part in the tournament this year. It isn‟t just the sheer number,
but also the quality of participants that promise to make the 2011 USA Judo World Cup a spectacular event.

“The World Cup in Miami should be one of, if not the best judo events that the United States has ever put on,”
said Jimmy Pedro, USA Judo National Team Head Coach. “The US Open back in the „80‟s was a very tough
competition and I think that we haven‟t had an event like this since „80s. So this World Cup in Miami, looking
at who is coming to the event and the number of countries that are participating, will be the first event in a
quarter century to this level. It even goes a little bit further than the US Open.”

The 2011 USA Judo World Cup is held this Friday and Saturday at the Doral Resort and Spa located at 4400
N.W. 87th Avenue, Miami, Fla. 33178. Weigh-ins begin at 7am with competition starting at 10am on both
days. Opening ceremonies are slated to begin at 6:00pm on Friday, followed by the World Cup Finals. Tickets
a

re available for $25 per day, $75 for VIP, and can be purchased at the door.

Participating Countries:

Visit www.judoworldcupmiami.com for more information and complete coverage of the 2011 USA Judo World Cup.
For more information on USA Judo, please visit www.usjudo.org.

Day One

Malloy Wins Gold at Judo World Cup
Local favorite Delgado earns bronze

MIAMI, Fla. – Marti Malloy (San Jose, Calif.) was able to defend her title in overtime and Angelica Delgado
(Miami, Fla.) took advantage of her hometown crowd to earn a bronze as the 2011 USA Judo World Cup got
underway Friday at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami. This year’s event is considered to be one of the
largest ever held in the U.S. with more than 700 athletes participating and representing over 50 countries.

Malloy came into the event as the defending champion in the women’s 57kg division and earned a bye in the first
round. She then defeated Russia’s Pari Surakatova, Spain’s Isabel Fernandez and Canada’s Joliane Melancon
before facing Miryam Roper of Germany in the final.

Most of the match was fought on the ground as both fighters searched for arm locks before Malloy won on a huge
shoulder throw for ippon just seven seconds into overtime.

“I kind of had tunnel vision for the first five minutes. I kept gripping the same way and the way that she was
defending made it hard,” said Malloy. “Then in the first exchange during golden score I got the grip I wanted and
the opportunity presented itself.”

Delgado lives just minutes from Doral as was evident by her large and boisterous cheering section.

“It’s nice to have my parents, friends and family that see me train so hard day in and day out get a chance to see the
results,” said Delgado. “I was so relieved when I won. There’s a lot of pressure when you’re fighting at home, but
it’s definitely more rewarding to win in front of your family and friends.”

Delgado lost her semifinal match in the women’s 52kg division against eventual gold medalist Romy Tarangul
(Germany), before facing off against Columbia’s Yulieth Sanchez for a bronze medal. Delgado defeated Sanchez
on a throw called osoto-gari for ippon a little over halfway through the match. It wasn’t the first time she has used
the move against Sanchez.

“I beat her last year at another World Cup on basically the same throw. I was looking for it the whole match and
was hoping that she didn’t expect it,” Delgado explained. “I’m trying to be more patient and confident in my
attacks. I still have a lot to learn, but it’s a good start.”

The 2011 USA Judo World Cup continues Saturday with competition slated to begin at 10:00am. Headlining the
event for the U.S. is current women’s 78kg World Champion Kayla Harrison (Wakefield, Mass.) along with medal
contenders Kyle Vashkulat (Glenville, N.Y.) and Anthony Turner (Miami, Fla.).

Visit www.judoworldcupmiami.com for more information and complete coverage of the 2011 USA Judo World Cup.
For more information on USA Judo, please visit www.usjudo.org.

View Results>

Day Two

Harrison Repeats Gold Medal Performance at the 2011 USA Judo World Cup

Shintaro Higashi earns bronze for the U.S.

MIAMI, Fla. – Current World Judo Champion Kayla Harrison (Wakefield, Mass.) defended her title on her
21st birthday and Shintaro Higashi (Scarsdale, N.Y.) was able to earn a bronze medal as the 2011 USA Judo
World Cup concluded on Saturday at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami. This year‟s event was
considered to be one of the largest ever held in the U.S. as more than 700 athletes representing over 50
countries took part in the two-day event.

Harrison came out aggressive early in her 78kg final against Canadian Amy Cotton and scored a quick yuko
(a quarter point) on a move called koshi-garuma and then held onto the lead for most of the match before
Cotton was able to tie the score on a counter move with just under 90 seconds left in the match.

“That is one of her really good moves,” Harrison said of Cotton‟s counter. “When someone attacks she takes
them backward. I knew that going in, but I let my guard down and that made it a really close match.”

With time running out, the crowd began to chant “USA! USA!” and Harrison responded by scoring the
decisive point on an osoto-gare throw for waza-ari (half point) with under a minute left in the match.

“That was a huge factor in winning today,” Harrison said of the crowd support. “I lost a little bit in the
middle of the match, but after hearing the crowd, I got my confidence back and thought to myself, „This is
my purpose. This is what I came here to do.‟”

After the match, Harrison was serenaded by the crowd with “Happy Birthday” led by USA Judo CEO Jose
Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.).

Harrison may have something else to celebrate when the new International Judo Federation (IJF) rankings
come out on Monday. The win may just earn her enough points to put her into the No.1 ranking for the first
time in her career.

“It is a great feeling and this has been one of the best days of my life. Not only is it my birthday and I won a
world cup, but the win may give me enough ranking points to become number one,” she explained. “I‟ve
wanted this since I was a little girl and I knew that I would get here when I was a little girl. I‟ve always had
two long term goals. One was to win the World Championships, which I was fortunate enough to have done.
The other is to win a gold medal in the Olympics and I am going to get that come hell or high water.”

Shintaro Higashi also came through for the U.S. by earning a bronze medal in the men‟s 100kg division after
defeating the Dominican Republic‟s Jose Boissard. Higashi defeated Canadian Stefen Zwiers in the
repechage to earn a spot in the bronze medal round.

“I‟ve been training really hard and putting in a lot of work with Pedro (USA Judo Olympic Head Coach,
Jimmy Pedro), so I wanted to go out there and keep up a good pace. That was my game plan, I knew if I
kept up the pace eventually he would fold,” Higashi explained.

“It feels good, but I can‟t be content. There are a whole lot more matches and tournaments coming up. I
want to take this momentum and power through the next two tours in South America.”

The 2011 USA Judo World Cup concluded on Saturday, but more Judo is slated for Sunday as Doral hosts
the 2011 USA Judo US Open Championships. The action starts at 10:00am and continues throughout the
day with athletes competing in Olympic weight classes as well as paralympic and masters divisions.

Visit www.judoworldcupmiami.com for more information and complete coverage of the 2011 USA Judo World Cup.
For more information on USA Judo, please visit www.usjudo.org

View Final Results>

Read about the US OPEN