JUDO ace Bryan Jolly managed to overcome a grade one tear in his AC joint to win two gold medals at the Oceania Judo Championships.
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The 16-year-old travelled to New Zealand for the event on Saturday, winning gold in the under-18, under 50 kilograms division and gold in the under-21, under 55 kilograms division.
It was a week earlier, at a training camp at the AIS in Canberra, when Jolly injured his shoulder.
Despite the injury concern he was still confident of doing well at the annual competition.
“I had a lot of adrenalin,” Jolly said.
“There were Australian doctors at the event, so I had the shoulder strapped and knew what I had to do to win.
Jolly, who has competed at the event for the past three years, said he was happy with how the tournament unfolded.
In the under-18 final, it was a round-robin style battle against French Polynesia fighters Etienne Fleure and Gaston Descamps.
“I didn’t want to be out on the floor too long, but in the final the two guys didn’t give me too much trouble,” Jolly said.
“I got to see them both fight prior to my fight, so I went out there knowing what I had to do.”
In the under-21s, Jolly also faced a competitor from French Polynesia.
“My opponent was quite a lot bigger than the two I fought in the under-18 final,” he said.
“He was quite a bit stronger and taller than the other two, but I knew that if I got him to the ground I would have quite a good chance of winning.
“I locked him and actually dislocated his elbow; it popped out of the socket.
“I had him on the ground for about 10 to 15 minutes.”
Jolly said he was now preparing for the national titles in Wollongong.
He said a small contingent of Bendigo athletes would fight at the four-day event.
“After that event I have a training camp in Switzerland in July, and then I am going to the Youth Olympics in China in August,” Jolly said.
“This year is one of my biggest years.”