Huntsville and all of Muskoka were well represented on the world stage last week.
“Judo” Jeff Allen earned himself a silver medal at the World Judo Championships in Las Vegas.
It wasn’t an easy road to get there, as Allen had to go through some tough heavyweight competition to get on the podium.
That includes Alexis Wojsznarowicz and Gregory Prior, who represented the U.S.A.
After besting his neighbours to the south and making it to the final four, Allen took on Mark Adams of Great Britain, a three-time Great Britain champion, as well as a World and European medalist.
“We went into the fight where I threw him with a huge throw in 5 seconds of the fight, advancing me to fight for gold,” Allen shared.
In the heavyweight finals, Allen was set to take on Rubens Filho, who he says is a member of the Brazilian Olympic team.
“Entering into the match, we were the last fight on the last day, so the whole Rio arena was very loud and excited to see Canada vs Brazil in the Heavyweight finals,” recalled Allen. “The match was very fast-paced, and there was a very hard grip fighting and fighting for position. I was caught and lost against a very tough opponent.”
Allen says he was very happy to represent both Canada and Huntsville and to bring back a silver medal.
He says flanked by former and current world champions on the podium, he was happy with his performance and will be training hard to bring home a gold next year.
“Thank you to Huntsville Judo, Ferris Family Judo, Tora Judo Club in Barrie and all my sponsors,” said Allen. “Most importantly, my beautiful wife Crystal, my daughter Ayla, and my son Lucas Allen, for being there on the side, cheering me on, supporting me, and giving me inspiration to fight hard.”
