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Pan Am - Three U.S. Athletes Fight for Gold and One for Bronze at Pan Am Games
By Nicole Jomantas // USA Judo // July 21, 2007
(Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) – In what looks to be one of the most successful days for USA Judo in Pan Am Games history, four athletes advanced to the medal rounds on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. local time at the Rio Centro Pavilion 4.
Valerie Gotay (Harlingen, Texas / USA Judo National Training Site at Harlingen / 57kg), Ryan Reser (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center / 73kg) and Travis Stevens (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center / 81kg) all will fight for gold and Marti Malloy (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University / 63kg) will fight for bronze.
Gotay and Reser will both fight Brazilians with Reser facing up against Leandro Guilheiro (BRA), a 2004 Olympic medalist, and Gotay taking on Danielle Zangrando (BRA) who she beat in the bronze medal match at the Pan Am Championships in Montreal in May.
Stevens fought 2004 Olympic medalist Flavio Canto (BRA) in the semifinals where Canto was injured on the landing from a throw by Stevens. Canto made it back up again, but Stevens threw him for ippon (instant win) on the next exchange. In the gold medal match, Stevens will fight Mario Valles (COL), a bronze medalist in Montreal.
Malloy will fight 2003 World Champion Daniela Krukower (ARG) for bronze.
For more information, contact Nicole Jomantas, USA Judo Director of Communications and Media Relations, at 011-55-21-8890-3155 or Nicole.Jomantas@usajudo.us.
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