2008 Paralympic Games

Day 1 - Sept. 8

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 8, 2008

BEIJING, China - Scott Jones (Little Rock, Ark.) was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd as he stepped onto the mat to begin judo competition at noon today at the Beijing Workers' Gymnasium & Stadium. In the third match on mat 2, two-time Paralympian Scott Jones, -81kg, (Little Rock, Ark.) faced Japan's Oga Kenji and by two waza-aris (half-point each) that equaled an ippon (instant win) that ended the match with only three seconds left on the clock. 

As the fight started, Jones, a silver medalist from the 2005 Para World Cup and a gold medalist from the 2005 Parapan American Championships, struggled with Kenji over the grip. Jones took an early lead when Kenji was given a penalty that resulted in a koka (smallest points) score for Jones.

Then during the match, Jones started but was unable to complete a throw and fell to the side. The referee awarded a yuko (quarter-point) score to Kenji and, although a side judge waved off the call, the other side judge agreed and the score was awarded to Kenji.

Jones continued to fight hard offense against Kenji's defensive strategy. But at the end of the match, Kenji was leading by the yuko as well as a waza-ari score and Jones was running out of time.

"I shot for a double and didn't get it," Jones said.

Kenji then threw Jones for a second waza-ari and the match was called ippon with just three seconds left.

"He fought the whole time from a defensive posture, but he did better than I did today," Jones said.

Jones was prevented from advancing when Kenji lost against Isao Cruz (CUB)in the second round. Competition continues and finishes on Tuesday, Sept. 9, at noon with Andre Watson, -90kg (Upper Darby, Pa.); Myles Porter, -100kg (Colorado Springs, Colo.); Greg De Wall, +100kg, (Chico, Calif.); and Jordan Mouton, -70kg (Houston, Texas).

Judo is one of the few competitive sports that the visually impaired athlete can participate in fully without major accommodations. In competition, blind athletes have achieved great success against top sighted competitors.

Jones began wrestling in high school and discovered judo while attending school at Lions World Services for the Blind (LWSB) in Little Rock, Ark. He graduated from LWSB with a certificate in programming and currently serves on the board of directors.

For more information or to arrange an athlete interview, please contact Dave Somers at 139-1063-4060 (if calling from the U.S., dial 011 86 plus the local number) or dave.somers@usoc.org.

Daily video highlights of the 2008 Paralympic Games are available at http://www.usparalympics.org/ and http://www.universalsports.com/.