In Japan as part of an Australian junior tour, Judo Bendigo instructor Ben Donegan and fellow national coaches Kylie Koenig and Hitoshi Kimura were on their way back to their accommodation last week when they came across a traffic incident.

After Koenig witnessed a collision between a vehicle and a woman on a bicycle near a major intersection in Ageo Ichihara, the quick-thinking trio sprang into action and came to the aid of the 64-year-old cyclist, who was not breathing after being knocked to the ground.

Koenig was able to secure the woman’s airway, enabling her to breathe again.

Kimura, an Australian team official based in Japan, interpreted Koenig’s and Donegan’s instructions and together they were able to secure the scene and control traffic until an ambulance and police arrived.

The brave efforts of Donegan, a former national champion and Australian representative at the world championships in Paris in 2011 – and his coaching colleagues were recognised with letters of appreciation from Hideaki Adachi, of the Ageo Police Station.

Adachi praised the three coaches for not only saving a life, but being able to control traffic so no secondary incidents occurred during the rescue.

 “These three individuals acted quickly, took appropriate measures against injuries and I would like to thank them from the bottom of my heart,” he said.

Koenig, a New South Wales-based coach and former Australian women’s under-48kg representative, was glad to have recognised the seriousness of the situation as quickly as she did.

“The women was nearly the same age as my mother, and I could connect with that, so I feel really special that we could save somebody’s life,” she said.

Judo Australia chief executive officer Alex Vallentine said he was impressed by his team staff’s response to the unexpected critical situation.

“Judo Australia is extremely proud of how our coaches handled this situation and saved a person’s life,” he said.

“I was also very pleased to see the recognition they received immediately from city officials for their efforts.”

The Australian cadet and junior teams are spending two weeks training in Japan.

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