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For
Immediate Release
January 14, 2003
Olympians Brian Olson and Ellen Wilson Anchor Talented U.S. Judo Team
For 2003 Titan Games; Four Team Members and Coach Excited to Represent
Team USA In Front of Hometown Crowd
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. - USA Judo today announced that Olympians
Brian Olson (1996, 2000) and Ellen Wilson (2000) will lead a talented
U.S. Judo Team into the 2003 Titan Games, February 13-15 in San Jose,
Calif. The U.S. Judo Team will feature the country's top ranked
athletes on this first stop on the Road to Athens.
The U.S. Judo Team boasts six of its eight members as currently being
ranked #1 in the nation in their respective weight classes. Three
of the four women competing are the reigning National Champions in their
division. The 2003 Titan Games will be a good international test
for the U.S. Judo Team as they will face fierce competition from Mexico
and China in this triangular meet.
Anchoring the men's team at 198 lbs./90 kg will be two-time Olympian and
1997 World bronze medalist Brian Olson of Boulder, Colo. Olson is
currently the USA's most successful athlete in international
competition. He has been ranked #1 in the USA for the past eight
years and was on the 1997, 1999 and 2001 World Teams, and the 1996 and
2000 Olympic Teams (7th in 2000). In 2002, Olson won gold medals
at the Hungaria Cup and the U.S. Open Judo Championships. He also
captured the silver medal at the Rotterdam (Holland) Grand Prix and
fought through an injury to win silver at the Pan American Judo Union
Championships. Olson is the only American to be invited to compete
on a European team in the Europa Cup Team Championships. He has
trained at the United States Olympic Complex, in Colorado Springs,
Colo., since 1992. In 2001 he opened his own training center in
Boulder, where he concentrates on teaching Judo and mentoring at-risk
youth.
Leading the women's team will be 2000 Olympian Ellen Wilson of Colorado
Springs. Wilson will be competing in the women's 125 lbs./57 kg
division. She defended her British Open Crown last April, less
than a week after she won the U.S. National Judo Championships.
She had success in nearly every international competition she entered
last year including a fifth place finish at the Dutch Grand Prix.
She brought home medals from the Benito Juarez tournament in Mexico, the
U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Nev., and the Canadian Rendez Vous in Montreal,
Quebec, Canada. She capped off the year with a bronze at
November's Pan American Championships in the Dominican Republic.
The Road to Athens will begin in familiar settings for half of the
athletes and one of the coaches representing the United States in the
judo competition at the 2003 Titan Games. The event, which will be
held at the Event Center on the campus of San Jose State University,
will feature Chuck Jefferson and Jose Bencosme who both live in San
Jose, have ties to the school and have left their marks on the school's
nationally recognized judo program. Bencosme, currently a senior
at San Jose State, will have the privilege of representing his country
in his home arena. Jefferson, a graduate and legend of the San
Jose State judo program, won the collegiate title all four years of his
eligibility. The San Jose State Judo Team has long been a
powerhouse among collegiate Judo, winning 38 of the 50 Collegiate
National Judo Championships.
"Having the Titan Games in San Jose is a great chance to perform in
front of our hometown fans," said Jefferson. "Were really
excited!"
Jefferson has positioned himself at the top of the highly competitive
161 lbs./73 kg category. This category opened up at the end of
2000 when World Champion and 1996 Olympic Bronze medalist Jimmy Pedro
retired. Since that time, the #1 position in the U.S. has
shuffled between a number of athletes, including Jefferson and 1996
Olympian Orlando Fuentes. Jefferson has finally secured a
stronghold on the #1 ranking with a gold medal at the U.S. Open in
October, followed in November by another gold at the Pan American
Championships in the Dominican Republic. Jefferson was voted U.S.
Olympic Committee male athlete of the month for November. Bencosme,
the men's 145 lbs./66 kg team member, won the Collegiate Judo National
Championships in 2001 and bronze in 2000. Although he is the
youngest (22 years old) and least experienced member of the delegation
in international competition, Bencosme is considered a rising star in
U.S. Judo. In October he placed fifth in the U.S. Open.
The Titan Games will also have a hometown feel for Taylor Takata, as he
won the 2001 Collegiate Championships while competing for San Jose
State. Others with local ties include Sayaka Matsumoto of nearby
Richmond, Calif., and Coach Brett Barron who hails from San Mateo,
Calif.
Takata is the men's 132 lbs./60kg entrant. Takata left San Jose
State University last year and moved to the United States Olympic
Complex in Colorado Springs to train full time. Takata had a
banner year in 2002 winning gold medals at the National Championships,
U.S. Open and the Canadian Rendez Vous. In November he defended
his gold medal at the Pan American Championships.
"I intend to keep this winning streak alive at the Titan
Games," Takata said.
Matsumoto is the women's team member in the 106 lbs./48 kg category.
She was on the 2001 World Judo Team and the 2000 Junior World Team where
she won a silver medal, the highest finish by a U.S. athlete.
Matsumoto hopes to duplicate the magical performance she had last March
in the San Jose State University Event Center, when she won the 2002
Collegiate Nationals.
"I'll do my best make the Titan Games a repeat performance,"
said Matsumoto.
Representing the USA in the women's 115 lbs./52 kg is Charlee Minkin of
Colorado Springs, who is perched solidly atop her division nationally.
The current National Champion, Minkin won the gold at the Canadian
Rendez Vous International in October and bronze at the Pan American
Championships in November. She was also on the 2001 World Team.
Rounding out the team in the 139 lbs./63 kg division is Ashlie Martini
of Chicago, Ill., who broke onto the national scene this year by winning
the bronze medal at both the Senior National Championships and the Fall
Classic National Championships. She made a strong international
showing at the U.S. Open in October by advancing to the semi-final.
She ended up finishing in fifth place after losing to World and Olympic
Champion Gella Vandecaveye of Belgium.
The Titan Games will provide a major test for U.S. Olympic hopefuls, as
the world's best get set to compete in the mini-sport festival with a
multi-sport format. The Road To Athens for America's elite boxers,
fencers, shot putters, wrestlers, weightlifters and judo, taekwondo and
karate athletes matches them up with the world's powers in each of these
respective sports.
Developed by the USOC in partnership with the affiliated NGBs and hosted
by the San Jose Sports Authority and the City of San Jose, the Titan
Games will feature a "USA versus the World" format in dual and
triangular meets. The Titan Games venue will accommodate four platforms
with competition continuously happening on at least three platforms. The
event's format is the first of its kind and will be staged over three
finals-only format sessions at the 5,000 seat Event Center at San Jose
State University. Team and individual winners will be named by sport and
weight classification, with the honor of "Ultimate Titan" up
for grabs.
ESPN2 will delay broadcast the event with hour-long programs on March
29, 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. (EST), and March 30, 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. (EST).
Pre-sale tickets for The Titan Games are available now at
www.ticketmaster.com and directly through the involved National
Governing Bodies. Olympic fans using their Visa card to purchase tickets
will receive an additional $4 off the pre-sale ticket price. All ticket
holders will also receive a free 2002 Olympic Winter Games beret.
While the Titan Games may not include all the Olympic sports, they're
without a doubt the most painful ones. Don't miss it!
Titan Games U.S Judo Team:
106 lbs./48 kg - Sayaka Matsumoto, Richmond, Calif.
115 lbs./52 kg - Charlee Minkin, Colorado Springs, Colo.
125 lbs./57 kg - Ellen Wilson - Colorado Springs, Colo.
139 lbs./63 kg - Ashlie Martini, Chicago, Ill.
132 lbs./60 kg. -Taylor Takata,Colorado Springs, Colo.
145 lbs./66 kg. - Jose Bencosme, San Jose, Calif.
161 lbs./73 kg. - Chuck Jefferson - San Jose, Calif.
198 lbs./90 kg - Brian Olson, Boulder, Colo.
Coaches:
Ed Liddie, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Brett Barron, San Mateo, Calif.
-end-
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