Huntsville’s Jeff Allen has spent the better part of a decade dominating the judo circuit in Canada, but he may have finally met his match.
At the National Judo Championships in Montreal, Que., he fought his son Lucas in the preliminary round. “Judo Jeff,” a member of the Huntsville Hall of Fame, won to extend his record against his son to three wins and no losses.
“He’s progressing quickly so he’s going to end up catching up to me eventually,” says Allen. “It’s just a matter of time.”
The elder Allen says the atmosphere was unlike any fight he’s been a part of. “It was one of the loudest fights of the day and it was just a preliminary round,” he says. Allen adds that what made it so special was how the crowd at Olympic Stadium picked a side. He explains the dads were rooting for him, while the kids were cheering on Lucas.
The pair train at the Huntsville Judo Club and have a home gym, so the father-son duo knows each other well. “He caught me with his throw that I knew was coming but it’s hard to stop,” says the younger Allen.
“It was nothing but smiles and laughs the whole time,” he adds.
The competition saw Jeff Allen add to his extensive trophy cabinet with a gold in the veterans’ heavyweight division and a silver in the ne-waza ground fighting competition while Lucas won gold in the under-21 heavyweight division. It marked the first medal for Lucas at a national competition and capped off his rookie season.
“It was cool to be able to fight both and go see all the different skill sets and all the different people that come from all over Canada,” says Lucas.
With Chris Muirhead, the sensi at the Huntsville Judo Club, winning a bronze in the +100 kg division, it marked the first time members of the club won at the National Judo Championships.
Next up is a potential trip to Abu Dabi for the Allens. Jeff has pre-qualified for the Veteran World Championships and is looking to do best the silver medal he won at the tournament last year. “I’d like to go back and try and get the gold this time,” he says.
