Pedro goes fourth: Local judo star chases elusive Olympic gold

Brian Olson, a two-time Olympic judo athlete from Colorado, sat mostly unnoticed in one corner of a New York hotel ballroom during a USOC press event a few weeks ago, looking over at the throng of reporters who surrounded his teammate.

There was a time when it seemed unlikely that teammate -- Lawrence native Jimmy Pedro -- would again step into the media spotlight. Following the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Pedro retired, unconditionally, no ifs, ands or buts, and took a full-time marketing post with monster.com.

But to Olson, Pedro's return for a fourth Games was no surprise at all.

``Not to me,'' Olson said. ``Sydney didn't end on the note Jimmy wanted it to end. I think Jimmy feels in his heart he's got some unfinished business.

``I think that's why he came back. I don't believe he would have come back if he didn't feel he could win. I think he's going over there with the attitude of unfinished business. He wants to get that medal back.''

The medal in question is of the golden variety -- the one major prize that has eluded the 33-year-old Pedro, who has become the Cal Ripken Jr. of his sport, combining remarkable achievements and longevity.

Olson describes Pedro as ``probably the best player this sport has ever had,'' a versatile, aggressive and technically sound judo athlete who maintained the No. 1 ranking in the United States for 10 successive years and has won virtually all of his sport's most prestigious tournaments. Yet the 1993 Brown University graduate earned just one medal in his first three Olympic tries, a bronze in 1996 at Atlanta.

Heading to Sydney four years ago, Pedro was the reigning 160-pound world champion and odds-on favorite for the gold.But this was one Olympic dream that did not come true, as he finished a disappointing fifth.

``I trained too hard,'' Pedro recalled. ``I wanted it too much. I put everything I had into it. When I stepped on the mat in Sydney I was flat. Every other athlete was on a sky-high, and I was flat. Had I competed a month later I might have won, had I given my body time to rest and heal. I was just tired.'' Moment of truth Regardless of the sour note on which the Olympics ended, Pedro unhesitatingly announced his retirement. He meant it 100 percent. ``I was completely stopped,'' he said.

For 2 1/2 years, a typical day saw Pedro leave his Methuen home for an early morning workout, then spend from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in monster.com's Maynard office working on the company's marketing and Olympic sponsorships. In the evening, he'd teach judo for a couple of hours, then head home to wife Marie, daughter Casey and sons A.J. and Ricky.

A favorite exercise: Being dragged in front of 7-year-old Casey's class for show-and-tell, teaching the kids about judo and the Olympics, and letting his daughter throw him to the floor in a judo demonstration.

``I was happy with my life,'' Pedro said.

But in February 2002, fate stepped in. Pedro's monster.com job took him to Salt Lake City to work the Winter Olympic Games. He was on hand at the Utah Olympic speedskating oval to see Derek Parra win the 1,500 meters, and later watched as Parra received his gold medal.

``It was inspiring to me,'' Pedro said. ``As an athlete watching other athletes, I knew what they went through to be there. It motivated me to want to do it one last time.''

So Pedro phoned home and informed his wife they had something important to talk about. Marie knew immediately what it was about -- and had known all along this was inevitable.

``She said to me, `I knew this was coming,' '' Pedro said with a laugh. ``My wife is a saint.''

The couple understood that it made no sense to walk away from judo if Jimmy was still capable of being the best in the world.

``She knew I felt unfulfilled after Sydney,'' Pedro said. ``She knows that I'm capable of doing better. I explained it to her that this would be the last time I would be physically capable of doing this. I wanted to give it one last shot so I don't have any regrets 10 years from now -- so I wouldn't be thinking, `You probably should have gone for it.' Then it's too late.''

Pedro got the OK from monster.com for a reduced work schedule to allow for training and competing. ``They're 100 percent behind me,'' Pedro said. ``This fit well with what they're trying to do in the Olympic movement. There hasn't been one grumble or complaint. They've given me total flexibility. It's been great.''

Pedro, who will compete in the 73-kilogram class, will not be the first player in his sport (yes, they do call judo athletes players) to attempt an Olympic comeback. But after missing more than two years, he may the first with a legitimate shot at a gold medal.

``I knew when I won the Korean Open in November of 2003 that this comeback was legit and I could do it in Athens,'' he said. ``I beat the Korean who beat me in Sydney and I also beat the 2003 world champion from Korea in his hometown. That's when I said, `This isn't just a comeback -- it's a legitimate shot at doing something big.'

``This is not just another guy going through the motions who can't let go. It's actually somebody who is physically ready to take a legitimate shot at it. To still be able to win after taking two years off tells me that at one point I must have been the best and that I can still be successful.

``I have as good a chance as anybody in my weight class to win. I have the experience, the technique, the background. I'm physically fit, mentally prepared and able to do it. Am I going to come out and say I'm going to win gold? No. Can I do it? Yes. It's one of those things where you have to be good that day. I was the best in the world in 1999 and probably the best athlete on the mat in 2000. But I didn't win gold.

``It just a matter of putting it together that day.''

And that's all he asks: One more day, one more shot. And then he's done. We think. One bit of advice, though, to Marie Pedro: Don't let Jimmy go to the 2006 Winter Olympics.