A MENTOR AND FIGHTER
Judo champ empowers others, too
When Kayla Harrison stepped onto the podium four years ago to accept the first Olympic gold medal won by an American in judo, her thoughts immediately turned to the people who helped her get there. “Words can’t really, truly express what it is like,” said Harrison, who lives in Marblehead and trains in Wakefield. “Everyone who has been a part of my journey, I was thinking of all of them.” In the four years since that groundbreaking moment, Harrison, now 26, has continued to put others first, and it might become a bigger legacy than anything she’s done on the judo mat. In addition to rehabbing from a serious knee injury and training for next week’s Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Harrison has made strides for fellow survivors of sexual abuse. Leading up to the 2012 Olympics, Harrison went public with the sexual abuse she suffered from a former coach in her hometown of Middletown, Ohio. She started anew by moving to the North Shore in 2007 and training with Olympic bronze medalist and national team coach Jimmy Pedro and his father “Big Jim” at Wakefield’s Pedro’s Judo Center.
Thanks to Pedro’s tutelage, Harrison grew not just as an athlete, but as a person.
Now Harrison hopes to provide similar support to other survivors through her Fearless Foundation, founded after her Olympic win to “educate the masses about sexual abuse.” The foundation is currently creating resources that can be used nationwide. Its biggest project: a book for seventh-grade health classes.
“When I was in school, there were books on ‘stranger danger’ and safe sex, but nothing on if someone you know takes advantage of you,” Harrison said. “It’s something our society doesn’t know how to talk about still. There was no material about it.”
After the book is in classrooms, Harrison may turn to the web.
“I want there to be an online network where you type in your ZIP code and can get resources for survivors,” said Harrison.
Another aspect of the Fearless Foundation brings judo to survivors, bringing them a productive activity they can find enjoyment and success in.
“Psychologists talk about your ‘mastery,’” explained Harrison. “Judo was my mastery. It was my one place I could be a kid.”
If judo isn’t their cup of tea, Harrison wants the survivors she works with to find an activity that can put them on the path toward self-discovery and healing.
“I don’t want to just bring these kids judo, but whatever that person enjoys,” she said. “I want them to have something to really feel like a kid again.”
If running a multi-faceted foundation wasn’t enough for Harrison, her preparation for another Olympic run has also included recovering from surgery. She won her gold medal with a left knee injury that ended up requiring surgery in 2013, taking her out of the sport for much of the next year.
“It was really hard,” Harrison recalled. “To have to be away from competition for six months, almost a year, was hard. I’ve been doing judo for as long as I can remember.”
The layoff may have been a blessing in disguise. Many Olympic gold medalists speak of difficulty finding motivation after they reach the pinnacle of their sport. The surgery helped Harrison find the drive within for another Olympic quest.
“Once you become an Olympic champion, you’ve aced your goal,” Harrison said. “Having something to work towards really fired me back up.”
Her coach sees the difference in Harrison’s preparation.
“She is more mature,” said Pedro. “She is more poised.”
Finding that extra gear is crucial given the unique demands of the judo competition. Harrison has just one day of competition in the plus-78 kilogram division. She and her competitors must bring their A-game on Aug. 11.
“To win a double gold medal is difficult in our sport because it is a combat sport,” Pedro said. “Because everything is done in one day, you have to be perfect on that day. Everyone else has to be normal.”
Despite strong opponents from Slovakia, Japan and host Brazil, Pedro is confident in his pupil.
“A repeat gold is not only possible, it is probable,” boasted Pedro.
Although Olympic gold isn’t Harrison’s lone goal anymore: It’s being a beacon of hope and help for others who have suffered the same horrors she has.
“The work I’m doing is more rewarding than any gold medal,” Harrison said.