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USA Sydney 2000 Olympics Judo Team

Dateline: 01/03/00

The results of the official selections for the United States Olympic Judo Team are in, and players in all 14 weight classes were announced on New Year's Day. Players qualify for the Olympic team through their national ranking and qualifying points in international tournaments.

This team marks the first time the United States had to qualify each weight class. For the 1996 Games in Atlanta, the U.S. was granted a host country exemption.

Qualification was based on either a top-8 finish in the World Championships, held last October in England, or by means of a quota system within the Pan American Judo Union. The quota system established 7 tournaments over the past 2 years in which countries could earn quota points. For each weight category, the USA had to finish among the top 6 countries for men and among the top 3 countries for women.

Three players qualified through the World Championships criteria:

Colleen Rosensteel, Buffalo Grove, Illinois, finished 7th at +78kg
Celita Schutz, Hillsdale, New Jersey, finished 5th at 63kg
Jimmy Pedro, Lawrence, Massachusetts, won the World Championships, at 73 kg. Pedro was the first player from the United States in 12 years to win a World Judo Championship.

All other players qualified through the Pan American Judo Union quota system. The last two to qualify were Hillary Wolf and Ellen Wilson, both of Colorado Springs, Colorado. In order to qualify, they both had to win their weight classes at the Pan American Senior Judo Championships last November in Uruguay and both won convincingly.

Hillary Wolf is probably better known for her roles in movies like Home Alone and Big Girls Don't Cry, They Just Get Even (Especially if they're international judo champions, I presume).

Two men's spots are still in contention: the 81kg class and the over 100kg class. In the 81kg class, Jason Morris of Scotia, New York, is ranked #1 but Todd Brehe of Colorado Springs, Colorado, holds the most quota points. In the +100 Kg class, Martin Boonzaayer of Palatine, Illinois is ranked #1 but Joe Felton of Fall River, Massachusetts holds the most quota points. These guys will remain in contention for the Olympic spot until the conclusion of the National Championships in April. At that time, the #1 ranked player will be named the Olympian and the other will be the alternate.

The alternates in all other weight classes will not be determined until one week prior to the deadline for submitting the final roster to the US Olympic Committee. This date has not yet been announced but at that time, the highest ranked player will be named as the Olympic alternate.

US Olympic Judo Team Roster

Weight Class	Men
	Name	City
60kg	Brandan Greczkowski	Colorado Springs, CO
66kg	Alex Ottiano	Oneco, CT
73kg	Jimmy Pedro	Lawrence, MA
81kg	Jason Morris or Todd Brehe	Scotia, NY, and Colorado Springs, CO
90kg	Brian Olson	Colorado Springs, CO
100kg	Ato Hand	Colorado Springs, CO
>100kg	Martin Boonzaayer or Joe Felton	Palatine, IL, and Fall River, MA

Weight Class	Women
	Name	City
48kg	Lauren Meece	Pembroke Pines, FL
52kg	Hillary Wolf	Colorado Springs, CO
57kg	Ellen Wilson	Colorado Springs, CO
63kg	Celita Schutz	Hilldale, NJ
70kg	Sandra Bacher	San Jose, CA
78kg	Amy Tong	San Jose, CA
>78kg	Colleen Rosensteel	Buffalo Grove, IL

For more information on the U.S. judo effort, consult the following links:

International Judo Federation
Governing body of world-wide judo competition.
U.S. Judo Team Bios and Photos
Profiles of the men and women of the U.S. Sydney 2000 Olympics judo team.
USA Judo
Home page of the governing body for judo competition in the U.S.
U.S. Olympic Judo Results
Complete results of the U.S. Judo team's results in previous Olympic competitions.

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