Maria Pekli
Maria Pekli (born 12 June 1972 in Baja, Hungary) is an Australian judoka of Hungarian descent. She was Australian Champion in the u/57 kg division for seven consecutive years, between 1997–2003.
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| Born | 12 June 1972 (age 48) Baja, Hungary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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She won a bronze medal in the lightweight (57 kg) division at the 2000 Summer Olympics, the first Australian woman to win an official Olympic Judo medal (although Sue Williams won a medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics when Women's Judo was a demonstration sport).
Along with Cuba's Driulys González and Japan's Ryoko Tamura-Tani, Pekli became in 2008 the first female judoka to compete at five Olympics. The only other judokas to compete at five Olympics are Belgian Robert Van de Walle and Puerto Rican judoka-bobsledder Jorge Bonnet.
In 2011, Pekli was awarded Life Membership of Judo Australia for her contribution to the sport at the Australian National Judo Championships.
Achievements
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 5th | Lightweight (57 kg) |
| 2003 | World Judo Championships | Osaka, Japan | 5th | Lightweight (57 kg) |
| 2002 | Commonwealth Games | Manchester, England | 1st | Lightweight (57 kg) |
| 2000 | Olympic Games | Sydney | 3rd | Lightweight (57 kg) |
| 1996 | European Judo Championships | The Hague, Netherlands | 2nd | Lightweight (56 kg) |
| 1995 | European Judo Championships | Birmingham, England | 7th | Lightweight (56 kg) |
| 1993 | World Judo Championships | Hamilton, Ontario, Canada | 5th | Lightweight (56 kg) |
External links
- Maria Pekli at JudoInside.com
- Maria Pekli at databaseOlympics.com (archived)
- Maria Pekli at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
- "Maria Pekli: Aiming high". ABC. 28 July 2004. Retrieved 11 July 2007.
- Videos of Maria Pekli (judovision.org)