The SJSU Olympic Legacy
There have been World Championships, Grand Prix’s, World Cups, and Continental Opens over the years. Then there are the Olympics. A medal from this tournament may be the most coveted medal an athlete could ever strive for. Every four years, the excitement culminates in a week of grandeur and glory.
For the sport of Judo, this tradition began in 1964 at the Tokyo Games. Led by our own Head Coach Yosh Uchida, the United States sent a team of five athletes, two of which were from SJSU. Uchida’s brother George Uchida coached the Olympic team in 1972 and taught at SJSU and later on at Berkeley. In addition to U.S. Athletes, SJSU has trained international athletes as well; judoka Gerardo Padilla and Eduardo Cerna trained in SJSU and competed for the Mexican Olympic team. Padilla competed in 1976, and both Padilla and Cerna made the 1980 team. However, for the two young athletes as well as Mike Swain and Keith Nakasone, the 1980 Olympics was boycotted. Coach Uchida says, “We didn’t find out about the boycott until they were almost ready to depart. We had hopes up until the end. I think it was on the radio at that time and on the news. It was the opportunity that they had to compete against the best of the world, and I know that that is so devastating.”
That wasn’t the end of the road for SJSU Olympians though; Swain returned to compete in the L.A. Games. Also competing in Los Angeles, Bobby Berland won a silver medal. In 1987, Swain made history at the World Championships in Essen, Germany, becoming the first male from the western hemisphere to win the Worlds. The following year, the SJSU judo team helped prepare Swain as well as Kevin Asano for the Games in Seoul; Swain won the bronze, and Asano won the silver. SJSU’s most recent Olympian is Miss Marti Malloy, who after years of training achieved her career high—the bronze medal at the London Games.
The SJSU Olympians have all gone on to lead successful careers and give back to the Judo community. They are role models for the SJSU student athletes; with a work ethic and dedication like theirs, the SJS judoka learn that it is possible achieve great things on and off the mat. This legacy of academic and athletic commitment is what Mr. Uchida has left for all the future generations of SJSU judoka to come.
Complete List of Olympians
1964
Yoshihiro Uchida (coach)
Ben Campbell
Paul Maruyama
1972
George Uchida (coach)
1976
Gerardo Padilla (Mexico)
1980
Eduardo Cerna (Mexico)
Paul Maruyama (coach)
Gerardo Padilla (Mexico)
Keith Nakasone
Mike Swain
1984
Bob Berland (Silver)
Paul Maruyama (coach)
Gerardo Padilla (Mexico)
Mike Swain
1988
Kevin Asano (Silver)
Bob Berland
Mike Swain (Bronze)
1992
Sandy Bacher
Damon Keeve
Mike Swain
Joey Wanag
1996
Sandy Bacher
Mike Swain (coach)
Damon Keeve
Liliko Ogasawara
Andrew Payne (Barbados)
2000
Sandy Bacher
Carlos Mendez (Puerto Rico)
Amy Tong
Andrew Payne (Barbados)
2012
Marti Malloy (Bronze)
2016
Colton Brown
Marti Malloy