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Team USA’s Myles Porter Takes Silver at Paralympic Games in London

September 1, 2012 - Team USA’s Myles Porter will bring home thesilver medal after a hard-fought day at the Paralympic Games in London.

Porter, 100 kg (U.S. Olympic Training Center, Colorado Springs, CO) began hisclimb defeating Japan's Aramitsu Kitazono. Myles had a bye the first round. Kitazono had just defeated Cuba's Juan Cortada Burmudez. Myles defeated Japan in just four seconds with a foot sweep.

In his next match, Porter demonstrated superior strength and stamina besting Russian opponent, Vladimir Fedin, who clearly tired through this match. Early on, the Russian picked up a yuko on a labored drop seoi nage. Porter, though, maintained extraordinary pressure on Fedin, firing foot sweeps and sacrifice throws over and over, peppered with armbar attempts until, finally, the Russian was penalized. With about a minute left, Porter picked up a wazari on penalties against Fedin that would carry him to victory.

That put Porter in the finals against Gwang-Geun Choi of South Korea. There,Myles and his coach, Eddie Liddie, said Porter made a fleeting mistake.

"I just deviated from the plan a little bit,” Porter said. “I thought I'd be able to pick him and he just held onto my arm and I ended up rolling through."

“He just got caught,” saidLiddie. “He started floating with him and the guy just came in and got him.”

A Silver Medal is a huge accomplishment, Liddie said. “It’s tough being so close to the gold, “but he should be very proud.”

Porter’s victory came close on the heels of a bronze medal taken today at the Paralympic Games in London by Dartanyon Crockett, 90 kg (U.S. Olympic Training Center, Colorado Springs, CO). On his first shot at the Paralympic Games, Crockett climbed the brackets, defeating a Russian opponent in the final match who was the Paralympic Champion in Beijing.

Also placing for Team USA at the Paralympic Games were Ron Hawthorne,60 kg (U.S. Olympic Training Center, Colorado Springs, CO), Katie Davis +70 kg (Team Sacramento, Sacramento, CA) and Christella Garcia, 70 kg (Sacramento Judo, Sacramento, CA) who took 7th place; and Cindy Simon, 57 kg (Kokushikai Judo Academy, Fair Lawn, N.J.) who took 5th place.

For more information and results, go to www.IPPON.ORG and http://www.london2012.com/paralympics/judo/.