First American to win gold in judo receives Maximized Living care

August 18, 2012 — Maximized-Living-treated judoka Kayla Harrison has reached an Olympic height that no American has ever matched.

Harrison is the first American — man or woman — to earn an Olympic silver or gold medal in the sport of judo. She became the greatest American judoka of all time by simply reaching the final round. She cemented her legacy by taking the gold.

In the final, Harrison faced home-crowd favorite Gemma Gibbons of Great Britain. Harrison controlled Gibbons throughout the match.

Until 2008, the US had never produced a medalist in women’s judo. Ronda Rousey, a former training partner of Harrison’s, reached the medal stand by taking home a bronze in Beijing. Rousey is currently the Strikeforce mixed martial arts world champion in the women’s 135-lb. division.

To help her on her Olympic quest, Harrison trusted her Maximized Living doctor to provide the best specific spinal correction available to keep her limber and injury-free. She has also received coaching according to the Maximized Living Nutrition Plans.

Because the sport of judo lacks the financial backing of soccer or basketball, judokas like Harrison often struggle to pay for training, coaching and other costs associated with Olympic competition. Maximized Living tried to ease some of her financial burden by providing organic, whole-food nutrition like grass-fed beef.

Earlier this week, Harrison’s teammate — and fellow Maximized-Living-treated athlete — Marti Malloy became just the second American woman to win a bronze medal in judo. Malloy understands how medal-winning performances can grow a sport’s fan base.

“I hope that me getting a medal and Kayla getting a medal — which I definitely think she will — will help give this sport more exposure and get more people doing it,” Malloy said at the post-match press conference.

Malloy’s comments turned out to be prophetic.

En route to the gold medal match, Harrison dominated. She won all three of her matches by ippon, which means “one full point.” Scoring by ippon immediately ends a match.

Harrison secured a juji-gatame — also known as an arm bar — to finish her first opponent in 56 seconds. In her second bout, Harrison utilized one of the 40 original judo throws, the o-soto-gari, to finish her second opponent in just over three minutes.

In the semifinals, Harrison faced No. 1-ranked Mayra Aguiar of Brazil, whom she also defeated via match-ending arm bar.

Harrison’s story has made waves because of the adversity she has faced along her way to Olympic glory, but she has refused to allow past events to overshadow her shining moment.

“Sometimes if you want sunshine, you gotta deal with rain,” Harrison told Fox Sports in a recent interview.

The opportunity to work with elite athletes is a perk, but Maximized Living doctors focus on strengthening their local communities one person at a time. The best part? The same training program and nutritional regimen used by Olympians can also benefit you and your family. Want to learn more? Click here to find a doctor in your area and schedule a consultation today.

Source: Maximized Living, maximizedliving.com