The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

After getting off to a fast start with some huge victories yesterday, Xavion Johnson faltered down the stretch and ended up fifth in the junior segment of the Pan American Judo Championships and the Oceania Judo Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The joint championships being held at the Carioca Arena 1 April 25-28 is a part of the International Judo Federation (IJF) World Tour and a qualification for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games to be held in Paris, France, July 27 to August 11. Johnson, who along with Andrew Munnings will be representing the Bahamas, competed in the junior 66 kilogram class where he won his first three matches yesterday.

He upset Mexico’s top seed, Jose Icelo, who is ranked at number two in the world as well as Fabricio Meyer from Chile, who is ranked at No.66, in the preliminary rounds.

But he suffered his first loss in the semifinals to American Jacob Yang, who is ranked at No.69 before he lost to Alfedo Valdivieso of Ecuador, who ranked at No.69 in the final round, to end up in fifth place.

“It was pretty good. I’m not going to lie. I beat the number two guy in the world in the second match, so it felt pretty good,” said Johnson, who is being sponsored by Bahamasair.

“To be honest, I came into the competition aiming to win. I’m happy with my performance, but I’m disappointed that I didn’t win the junior division.”

Omri Kelly, travelling as the coach for the Bahamian judoka duo, said the 17-year-old Johnson fared very well in his matches yesterday, but he wasn’t able to sustain his composure in the final two matches.

“He was on fire. Just one of two things he has to work on,” said first-time coach Kelly of Johnson, who appeared on one of the biggest stages so far in his judo career.

“So for him to come out and have a performance like this, beating the number one seed in the world, just says a lot. But that’s just how judo goes. You never know. Nothing is ever sure when you are out there competing.”

Johnson opened up with a victory over Agustin Ledesma of Paraguay. He then won over Icelo and Meyer to complete the preliminaries with a perfect 3-0 win-loss record to win Pool A. “I think he was a little frustrated because, in both of them matches, he was down and he was able to come back,” Kelly said. “In the three matches he won, no one scored on him, so he was going pretty good until he got his first loss.

“I think the American scored on him, that kind of rattled him. In his loss fight, although he was down, he was able to keep his composure. He had a few good exchanges, but just couldn’t get over the hump.”

Johnson is hoping that he can make amends to his overall position in the seniors today.

“I’m just going to come back with the same type of mentality that I used at the start of the junior competition,” Johnson said. “I want to get off to a good start and hopefully it will carry right over to the end.”

After establishing himself as one of the top juniors in the competition, Kelly said he’s looking forward to seeing how well Johnson will adjust to the competition against the seniors, starting today.

“The thing about us in the Bahamas is that we’re like sleeping giants. They don’t expect much from us, but we always have good