2009 Pan AM Games: Travis Stevens defeated Flavio Canto (BRA) in the 81kg Finals
Travis Stevens (blue) defeated Flavio Canto (BRA) in the 81kg finals.
Nearly two years ago, Travis Stevens (Wakefield, Mass. / NYAC / USA Judo National Team FORCE) first gained international attention when he defeated 2004 Olympic medalist Flavio Canto (BRA) en route to winning the Pan American Games - his first event as a member of Team USA.
Since then, Stevens won a silver medal at the 2008 Pan American Championships and placed ninth at the Olympic Games, but it was a rematch with Canto in the finals of the Pan American Championships in Buenos Aires that proved to be one of the most exciting matches of the day on Thursday.
After a first-round bye in the 81kg division, Stevens advanced to the finals against Canto, a nine-time World Cup medalist.
The two fought for the duration of the five-minute regulation period with neither athlete giving up a score.
Stevens controlled the overtime period before throwing Canto for ippon (instant win) with an o uchi gari (inner leg throw) to win the gold medal.
2009 NY Open
Seven months after the Olympic Games in Beijing, Travis Stevens (Wakefield, Mass. / NYAC / USA Judo National Team FORCE) found himself facing 2008 Olympic Champion Ole Bischof (GER) for the second time when he advanced to the 81kg finals of the New York Open on Sunday in New York City.
Bischof and Stevens met again in front of a home crowd for Stevens at the New York Open. This time both players kept up a fast pace for the five-minute regulation period before sending the match to Golden Score (sudden death overtime) where Stevens went in for a fireman's carry and was countered by Bischof for a yuko (quarter-point score) that ended the match and gave Stevens a silver medal in his first New York Open final. In its twenty-sixth year, the Open is a USA Judo Senior C-Level point tournament for U.S. players and a B-Level tournament for international players.
*Stevens places ninth in Olympic judo competition
August 12, 2008
Travis Stevens, in blue, throws Taigo Camilo of Brazil in the 81 kg judo competition Tuesday at the Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
(Beijing, China) – Within an hour after 22-year-old Travis Stevens (Glenville, N.Y. / Tacoma Wash.) placed ninth in the 81kg division on Tuesday, he was already making plans for tonight’s workout, tomorrow’s workout and the gold medal he hopes to win in London four years from now.
A Pan American Games Champion who won his first international gold medal at the U.S. Open less than two years ago, Stevens began his Olympic Games with a first round bye and a second round match that ended in just over three minutes when he soundly defeated Franklin Ceisneros (ESA). After Cisneros was given a penalty, Stevens threw him for a yuko (quarter-point) score and later armbarred him to win the match.
In the next round, Stevens was penalized twice against 10-time World Cup medalist and former European Champion Ole Bischof (GER) and thrown for a koka (smallest points) score. Although Bischof was given a penalty as well, Stevens lost the match.
“He was really strong and he changed up how he fights which I didn’t expect,” Stevens said. “The German brought a whole new game plan and let me make mistakes.”
In one of the day’s biggest upsets, Bischof dispatched reigning World Champion Tiago Camilo (BRA) in the
quarter-finals which kept Stevens’ medal hopes alive as he moved down to the repechage where athletes can fight through for bronze.
“It’s a new day!” Stevens said after finding out he was going to have another chance at a potential medal.
An uneducated spectator never would have known that Stevens’ next opponent, Mehman Azizov (AZE), was a 17-time World Cup medalist who placed fifth in Athens as Stevens controlled the entire match from the first minute.
Azizmov was awarded the first penalty of the match and a pair of penalties for both players soon followed before Stevens threw Azizmov for a waza-ari (half-point) score.
In the final minute, Azizmov still hadn’t attacked and was given a third penalty which, combined with the throw for a waza-ari earlier in the match, combined to give Stevens the win with 54 seconds remaining.
Stevens’ next opponent was Camilo who won the 2007 World Championships in spectacular fashion, throwing all of his opponents for ippon (instant win).
Down by two penalties, Stevens was thrown by Camilo for a koka score, but still didn’t give up, nearly tying the match with a throw that was scored as a yuko in the fourth minute.
Camilo held onto the narrow lead for the final 90 seconds to win the match while Stevens placed ninth.
“I think I got a couple bad calls during the day, but if you don’t come back from that you don’t really deserve to win,” Stevens said.
After his last match, Stevens described the competition as being a valuable experience toward his goal to become the best judo player in the world.
“I didn’t perform my best, but I did a lot of things right and I’m going to learn from my mistakes,” Stevens said. “Now that I’ve been here, I’ve had the experience and I’ve shown that I can compete at this level.”
While many players will take time off after the Games, Stevens insists there will be no break in his focus for gold.
“I’m going to go back to the village and go for a run tonight and then do a workout tomorrow. I want to get right back into training and go through the tapes. If you wait a month, you start to forget things so I’m staying through freestyle wrestling and then I want to get back in the dojo.” said Stevens who plans to return to international competition in the fall with stops at the U.S. Open and Rendez-Vous Canada as well as a trip to fight in Europe.
For Stevens, the countdown to London starts today: “I’m ready to be on the top of the podium in 2012.”
For more on Stevens' performance, read Morris' blog, "Live at the Olympics," at www.dailygazette.com
*What does it take to win an Olympic medal in Judo?
In order to win medals at the world level, Judo athletes must not only train with the best, but they must also compete on a regular basis against the best.
Here is where the importance of skill and experience comes into play. The #1 limitation that U.S. athletes face is the lack of enough funding to train and compete. USA Judo provides some nationally ranked athletes with very limited financial support for training and travel to competitions. However, the funding available is no where close to what is really needed for USA athletes to properly compete and win at the world level!
Each year, an up-and-coming Judo athlete will spend upwards of $20,000 traveling to competitions and training camps around the world. Because of the fact that presently the best Judo athletes in the world are located in Europe or Asia, U.S. athletes find themselves having to travel great distances to find top-level training opportunities and competitions.
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