Anastasia Krivosta may be small, but she's mighty. At 5-foot-nothing, the 14-year-old can do 10 pushups in handstand position and throw her dad over her hip. This purple belt--the highest rank that can be earned before age 15--was a bronze medalist in the 1995 U.S. National Junior Olympics, a silver medalist in 1994, and she's going for gold. She's a hard worker, who puts in four hours of practice a week, has nixed junk food from her diet and is willing to exercise "as much it takes."
The start: "My dad competed in judo, and I used to watch him. When I was 5, I ran onto the mat where he was and started playing."
Slow and steady: "It can be frustrating learning how to do a throw, a choke or some other move when you don't know what you're doing. You have to learn things slowly, the right way."
Beating the odds: "In the 1996 New York City's Mayor's Cup, a big judo competition in New York, I played this girl who I'd lost to before. I was 84 pounds and she was 106 pounds. This time, I decided I was going to beat her--and I did."
In self-defense: "The only time I ever used judo to defend myself was when I was in sixth grade, and a bunch of eighth-graders tried to trip me. I blocked them, and ended up tripping them. They never bothered me again."
Visions of gold: "I plan to compete in the 2000 Olympics. I sometimes picture myself on the podium with the gold medal placed around my neck."
Sticking with it: "I'll keep up with judo after the Olympics. I hope to be a coach someday. Judo is in all my dreams for later life."
Source Citation
"Purple belt, gold medal." Girls' Life June-July 1996: 41. Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure Collection. Web. 17 Apr. 2010.
Document URL
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Saturday, April 17, 2010
OLYMPIAD GOLD MEDAL.....TEAM CHINA
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judo
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