Craig Agena

Craig Agena (born 1960)[1] is a former Olympic level judoka for the United States.[2] He competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics.[3]

Craig Agena, right, competes against Norway's Alfredo Chinchilla in the 65 kilogram weight class of the judo event at the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Career

He was born Craig John Agena, 7 September 1960 in Honolulu, Hawaii[1]

He trained at Northglenn judo center in Northglenn, Colorado,[4] and competed in several events, including the 1981 and 1983 National Seniors judo competition (placed second and first respectively)[5][6]

After enlisting in the army in 1983, he was placed in the Army World Class Athlete Program. Being placed second in the qualifying trials, Agena was given a place on the Olympic team of the 1984 Games[7] competing (unplaced) in the 65 kilogram weight class of the Judo event.[3]

Following the Games, he was transferred to a tank battalion in Germany, winning a bronze medal at the 1987 World Military Championships in San Diego,[8] then later serving in Iraq and Japan.

Having risen to the rank of Colonel, he was chief of the Bilateral Coordination Action Team (BCAT) in 2011 at the time of the earthquake and tsunami, and directed US military efforts assisting the Japanese government in the clean up after the disaster.[9]

He received the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun in 2014 for "Contribution to the strengthening of the Security of Japan and the Japan-US alliance and to the promotion of the understanding of Japanese culture"[10]

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References
  1. "Craig John AGENA - Olympic Judo | United States of America". International Olympic Committee. 2016-06-15. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  2. "US Olympic Judo Teams 1964 to present". Archived from the original on 2014-06-26. Retrieved 2016-09-12.
  3. "Craig Agena Bio, Stats, and Results". Archived from the original on 2020-04-18.
  4. "Judo's faithful find home in Northglenn - Colorado Community Media". Colorado Community Media. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  5. Inc, Active Interest Media (December 1981). Black Belt. Active Interest Media, Inc.
  6. "Craig Agena, Judoka, JudoInside". www.judoinside.com. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  7. Inc, Active Interest Media (July 1984). Black Belt. Active Interest Media, Inc.
  8. Inc, Active Interest Media (February 1988). Black Belt. Active Interest Media, Inc.
  9. "Language Institute fills communication gap during Operation Tomodachi". www.army.mil. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  10. "2014 Spring Conferment of Decorations on Foreign Nationals" (PDF). Foreign Office Ministry, Japan. Retrieved 13 August 2017.


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