Judo Star Kayla Harrison Makes History with Second Olympic Gold Medal
Photo by Markus Schreiber / AP
Kayla Harrison steamrolled through her opponents en route to her second consecutive gold medal on Thursday afternoon.
The judo star made history at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro by becoming the first American to ever win two golds in the sport. Harrison previously made history when she became the first American to ever win a gold medal in judo at the 2012 Olympics in London.
The decorated martial artist, who trains out of Wakefield under the legendary Jimmy Pedro, defeated France’s Audrey Tcheumeo in the final match. Harrison used an armbar to force Tcheumeo to tap out, sealing the victory for the American.
Count it! @Judo_Kayla becomes the first American to win two gold medals in #judo. #Rio2016 https://t.co/072IpsJevN https://t.co/ud8SCSNaAH
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) August 11, 2016
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Harrison would use former UFC champion Ronda Rousey’s signature move on the mats, as the pair has a lot in common and even used to train together.
Rousey became the first American woman to ever win a medal in judo when she took home bronze at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Before she became a groundbreaking UFC star, Rousey was training partners with Harrison during the former champ’s judo days at Pedro’s facility in Wakefield.
