Congratulations to #TeamBudokan’s Will Zollinger and Clarissa Vumbaca on their first ever international competition.
- Will Zollinger (5th Place). 16 athletes in Will's 60kg Cadet Men division saw him fight Peru who had beaten the Columbian in his first match. This was a solid win by Will scoring Waza-Ari with Seoi-Nage and quickly transitioning to groundwork with a strangle submission. In the Semi-Final against Brazil, Will was thrown Waza-Ari and after some strong attacks by Will was thrown off the floor with Kouchi-Gari. In the Bronze match, he fought team-mate Alberti and was thrown with Uchi-Mata for a commendable 5th place result.
- Clarissa Vumbaca (5th Place). Clarissa's 48kg Cadet Women's division had 14 athletes and her Quarter-Final match against Peru saw her fighting with good aggression transitioning to the ground and finishing with a lovely strangle submission. In the Semi-Final against USA she struggled with the strong top grip and conceded penalties putting her in the Bronze match against Canada. In this match Clarissa used good footwork but was behind the pace and lost on penalties, also for a 5th place result.
Fighting for a medal in the finals block and gaining valuable experience and feedback in their first international event will hopefully motivate these young athletes to greater things. Following the competition they participated in a 3 day camp before returning home.
- Josh Katz (Bronze Medal). One week after the Cadet Panamerican-Oceania Continentals, the Senior Team took to the mat in the same event. Josh’s 60kg division had 18 athletes. Looking to build on his recent two podium performances in Bosnia and Poland he fought in the early hours nearly two weeks ago. His first match was against Columbia (who had beaten Chile in the first round). Josh dictated the pace well showing particular advantage in ground work and at the half-way mark scored Waza-Ari with a drop Tai-Otoshi which is how the match ended. In the Quarter-Final against Cuba (who defeated Ecuador in his second round), 3.5 minutes into the match Josh looked well in control with a Shido advantage but his drop Tai-Otoshi attack was countered for Waza-Ari and despite pushing a high tempo and forcing a second Shido on Cuba, this is how the match ended. In Repechage against Argentina Josh scored Waza-Ari in the first 30 seconds with drop Seoi-Nage and at 2 minutes squashed a Kata-Guruma attack and turned ARG over for a hold down and Ippon. The Bronze match against Venezuela was a tighter affair. Josh took the initiative in most exchanges and at the halfway point was up 2 shidos to 1. Continual pressure from Josh forced a third shido to VEN; a well-deserved win and a Bronze medal. Despite his medal-winning result Josh had high expectations of himself and was quite disappointed with his performance knowing that he could fight a lot better. That said, he fought hard and dug deep for his Bronze.
Matches for all 3 TeamBudokan athletes can be found on YouTube as follows:
- Clarissa
Campeonato Panamericano y de Oceanía Cadete Lima 2022 | Eliminatorias Tatami 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJFgGHJHYkcCampeonato Panamericano y de Oceanía Cadete Lima 2022 | Finales Tatami 1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnpaiShSdzA&t=8744s
- Will
Campeonato Panamericano y de Oceanía Cadete Lima 2022 | Eliminatorias Tatami 2https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKUgH7siSJ8Campeonato Panamericano y de Oceanía Cadete Lima 2022 | Finales Tatami 3https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-hLwnLmMpw
- Josh
Campeonato Panamericano y de Oceanía SENIOR Lima 2022 | DIA 1 Eliminatorias Tatami 2https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNmTjq6ym7EFINALES - CAMPEONATO PANAMERICANO LIMA SUMATE APOYANOS AQUI ..!!! https://cafecito.app/judotvhttps://www.facebook.com/martin.franco.7528/videos/1076870393174949/?comment_id=1076954303166558¬if_id=1650072447962487¬if_t=comment_mention&ref=notif