LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 28: Sarah Menezes of Brazil celebrates winning the gold medal over Alina Dumitru in the women’s Judo Final during Day 2 of the Womens Judo Finals as part of the London 2012 Olympic Games on July 28, 2012 at the Excel Center in London, England. (Photo by Donald Miralle) Nikon D4 Lens:200-400mm Fstop:4 Shutter: 1/1000th sec ISO 1600
While riding on the Jubilee line of the underground today late as usual, I was reading the photographers manual (A thick booklet printed by LOCOG that like the Photographers handguide and Olympic bible) and saw that I was passing the Judo venue and there was two gold medal matches about to start. I spontaneously jumped off the train and ran a good 3/4 miles with 75 lbs of camera and computer gear to get to the Excel Arena minutes before the martial artists “kicked off”. Ended up being a good decision because I witnessed a little history as Russia won a gold medal for the first time in Olympic Judo History thanks to Olympian Arsen Galstyan. Galstyan was able to defeat Japanese super medalist Hiroaki Hiraoka in the finals. And then in an unexpected Olympic moment, Galstyan ran directly toward me and I thought he was coming to hug me and sitting right behind me was his family. I was literally caught in the middle of a group hug without any wide angle lens to shoot the great moment, but apparently I got a good 15 seconds of TV time instead. In Women’s 48-kilogram Judo, 22-year-old Brazilian Sarah Menezes defeated the defending Olympic champion Alina Dumitru. It was a heated battle while both contenders worked hard to get a dominate grip, but Menezes was able to throw Dumitru and secure the gold. Here are the pics, hope you enjoy and please chime in with comments too I would love to hear them!!!
Screen shot of me (left smiling) stuck in a gold medalist hug….
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