Maureen Braziel
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 8, 1945 |
| Home town | Brooklyn, New York, USA |
| Occupation | Judoka |
| Sport | |
| Country | United States |
| Sport | Women's Judo |
| Weight class | 78kg or less |
| Coached by | Kiyoshi Shiina |
| Profile at external databases | |
| JudoInside.com | 36526 |
| Updated on 17 June 2022. | |
Maureen Braziel was one of the pioneers of Women's Judo competition.[1] She has been thought of as being one of the top Judoka in the United States,[2] and within the 1970s.[3]
Competition[edit]
She won the silver medal heavyweight in the 1971 British Open, and bronze in the open division.[4] She was the first female to place in international competition in Judo.[4] As a result, helped to make women's Judo a sport under the Amateur Athletic Union.[1] Maureen was the women's US National 1st-place winner for the heavyweight division and the grand champion for the years 1974, 1975, and 1976.[5]
At a competition weight of 180 lbs, Maureen was strong enough to compete with men.[6] She defeated Diane Pierce in 1974 for the national championship.[6] Diane Pierce would later appear on the show To Tell The Truth claiming to be the 1974 National Judo Champion.[6] Maureen won the gold medal in the 1975 Judo International championship for the heavyweight division in Switzerland.[4] She was the undisputed US Heavyweight Champion on the East Coast from 1967 to 1977.[7] In 1976 she was part of the US Women's National Team under her friend [8] and team coach Rusty Kanokogi[4] She placed second in 1977, 1979 and 1980 for the Women's US Nationals[9] She was the Amateur Athletic Union Most Outstanding Player Award in 1974 [1]
In 2021, she was inducted into the United States Judo Federation's Hall of Fame [10]
Personal life[edit]
Following competition she founded the PolyTech Judo Club.[7] She served as the head coach for the Poly Tech Judo Club.[11] She would later serve as athletic director at Poly Tech.[12] Even later she would serve as the athletic director for NYU-Poly.[13] She would later retire after 30 years at NYU.[13] She served as the secretary for NYS Judo (circa 2009).[14]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "How Maureen Braziel fought her way into history". www.nyu.engineering. NYU Tandon School of Engineering. 2007-07-16. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
- ^ "Top Female Judoka in the United States". Black Belt '77 Annual Yearbook. January 1978. p. 48 – via Google Books.
- ^ "How Rusty Kanokogi became the queen of judo". Sports Illustrated. 1986-03-24. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
- ^ a b c d Miller, Ernestine G. (2002). Making her mark: Firsts and milestones in women's sports. Chicago: Contemporary Books. pp. 169–170. ISBN 0-07-139053-7. OCLC 49225770.
- ^ "USA Judo - Features, Events, Results | Team USA". usjudo.org. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
- ^ a b c Eads, Valerie (June 1975). "Fighting Women". Black Belt. Vol. 13, no. 6. p. 44 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b "Poly eBriefs".
- ^ Eads, Valerie (January 1975). "Sweating out a championship". Black Belt. Vol. 13, no. 1. pp. 45–46 – via Google Books.
- ^ "USA Judo - Features, Events, Results - Team USA". Team USA.
- ^ "Maureen Braziel – United States Judo Federation".
- ^ "Judo Has Stellar Weekend at Tech Invitational".
- ^ Wolf, Yonah (2007-07-17). "Sensei Braziel in the Spotlight". The Road to Nidan.
- ^ a b "NYU Poly Athletics - 30 Years: NYU-Poly Athletic Director Maureen Braziel Retires". Archived from the original on 2013-11-15. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-21. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)