In 2008, Kyra Gracie made an attempt to go to the 2012 London Olympics in Judo. For some this seemed possible as BJJ is seen by many of its practitioners as a top grappling style. There were many naysayers such as BJJ Black belt and Judo Olympian, Rhadi Ferguson. Rhadi Ferguson stated that Judo Olympics is far more difficult than the BJJ World Championships. The rationale was based on the talent pool that Judo has to select from. He utilized names such as Ronda Rousey, who he felt would be able to train 6 months and win a Judo tournament in Europe as well as the BJJ Worlds. He contended that Kyra could not even make it out of the first round in a major Judo tournament. Kyra would have also most likely been in the division of 2012 US Olympian Marti Malloy (and most likely would have been beaten by Marti).
Another problem that Kyra ran into was that Brazil is a major player in Judo. Despite having a good ground game, Kyra didn’t have the necessary training to beat top level Judoka in Brazil (and less of a shot in the world). Had she come from another nation with a less prominent Judo heritage, she might have had a better shot at getting on the Olympic team.
Kyra would neither make the Olympic Team in the United States nor Brazil. Chances were slim as Kyra, was already considered to be a senior citizen in the world of competitive Judo. Kyra would also end up having a baby which also side tracked any Olympic aspirations. She would though win multiple BJJ championships during this period. Kyra has though expressed strong interest in fighting in MMA (most notably the UFC), which she feels is a natural progression for her.
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