North Bend twins Brynn and Haley Buskerud have become judo world champions, setting history in the process.
The Buskeruds won the gold medal in the U21 Ju-no-kata division in the Kato World Championships November 8-9 in Paris, France. In the process, they became the first United States athletes to earn medals in the International Judo Federation event, which was first contested in 2009.
“This is a tremendous historic first for the international USA Judo Kata team,” said Diane Jackson, chair of the USA Judo Kata Committee and coach for Team USA. “With international skill levels and competition increasing every year, this makes their achievement even more impressive. I am so proud of their dedication and hard work that is needed to perform at this high level.”
They bested 14 other teams from Asia, South America and Europe.
“They made the finals with an excellent score,” said Rob Schab, their coach at Shipyard Judo in the Bay Area. “The Korean and Italian teams looked strong, but in the finals Brynn and Haley’s performance was at the top of the leaderboard from the start.”
The Buskeruds finished with a score of 393. Ryomin Woo and Ryoah Woo of Korea finished with 387 points and Siria Quartieri and Anna Demola of Italy scored 386 points. Fourth place went to Minguk Kim and Dayeon Kim of Korea with a score of 379.
“Coming off the mat, we saw our score and our jaws dropped,” Haley said. “That performance was exhilarating, no nerves in sight. I’ll never forget that feeling.”
“It was such an honor and privilege to be part of this experience,” Brynn said. “Winning in Paris was a dream from the beginning of our journey. Having it come true is a moment I’ll never forget.”
The Buskeruds have risen up in the United States judo rankings over the years.
They have won three national titles and had won two international titles before the world championships, most recently taking the gold medal in the Pan American Judo Kata championships in Cancun, Mexico.
They qualified for the world and Pan American events with their performance in the national championships in Alabama in May, where they won the U23 division for the third straight year. They also took silver while competing in the Open division for the first time.
For more information on adult and children’s judo classes, contact Shipyard Judo at www.shipyardjudo.com.