JUDOKA EYES OLYMPICS
COOYA Beach judo star Sebastian Temesi is on the cusp of fulfilling his Olympic dream.
The 28-year-old will travel to South America on Friday for three Pan American tournaments crucial to his chances of representing Australia at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Temesi, the number one seed for the intercontinental opens in Peru, Argentina and Chile, must win a medal to continue his path to Japan.
“I have built my whole life around this,” Temesi said.
“I need to medal and I’m quite confident that I will.”
The 183cm, 90kg judoko is a nine-time world champion but fell one point short of qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
“When I started out in judo at seven-years-old, I had my sights on the Olympics; a lot of sacrifices have been made to get to this point,” he said.
“Killing myself twice a day isn’t fun but I’m ready and determined to do well.”
Temesi flies out with other athletes for Lima, via Melbourne, on Friday and is hoping for a favourable draw.
Only the best 18 judokas on the planet compete at the Olympics, meaning he needs to continue his reign as Australia’s top athlete. Temesi, who trains out of the Coral Coast Judo Club in Mossman, said his focus was on Tokyo before he turns his attention to a professional mixed martial arts career.
He’s had four cage fights (3-1-0) and has his sights on the lights of a UFC octagon.
Former UFC superstar Ronda Rousey, who has a net worth of $12 million, was an Olympic judo champion before her foray into the MMA.
“Judo doesn’t allow you to compete in any other sports but after selections and the Olympics I will definitely jump straight into the cage,” he said.
“I’m clearly going to be known as a grappler, given my experience in judo, but I’m confident in my stand-up game. I’ve been doing stand-up for six years and am sparring as part of my cardio training for judo.”