Rob Gouthro and Lisa Capriotti
by Rob Gouthro
The Pan American Judo Championships were held this year in Lima, Peru from April 24th to April 27th. Robert Gouthro and Lisa Capriotti took home the Gold medal in the Mixed Goshin Jutusu category and the Gold medal in the Mixed Kime no Kata category. Their score of 508.0 in Goshin Jutsu was the highest across all three Goshin Jutsu divisions, beating the next highest score of 476 from the Canadian men’s team by a wide margin.
Diane Tamai Jackson and Karl Tamai took home Silver in Mixed Katame no Kata and Bronze in mixed Ju no Kata against tough competition from the Brazilian team.
Karl Tamai and Diane Tamai Jackson on the Mixed Ju No Kata podium
Shufu sensei Fran Val served as judge on the international panel and Theodore Schwalm did a commendable job as team manager.
The 2019 U.S. Pan American Kata Team
Based on their performance at the Pan American Kata Championships, both Shufu teams were nominated by the USA Judo and the PJC to attend the IJF Kata World Championships in Chungju, South Korea on September 4th and 5th. They will be joined by one other US team, Jeff Giunta and Heiko Rommelmann, of Rochester NY.
Following the competition, the teams traveled to the UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, and Cusco.
The team at Machu Picchu: Front Row: Carla Martin, Barbara Shimizu. Second Row: Karl Tamai, Mary Wakabayashi, Diane Tamai Jackson, Lisa Capriotti, Robert Gouthro, Pam Moye, Kuniko Takeuchi, Fran Vall, Theodore Shwalm. Center Rear: Jihyon Oishi
