Jimmy Pedro

James A. “Jimmy” Pedro was born on October 30, 1970, in Massachusetts.⁠[1]

His father was also his judo coach; he has credited his family for his ability to win big matches, saying his father trained them to win.⁠[2]

In 1991 he won a bronze medal at the World Championships in Barcelona.⁠[1]

Wrestling for Brown UniversityBrown UniversityBrown University is a private nonprofit research university in Providence, Rhode Island, and a member of the Ivy League. Chartered by Rhode Island's colonial legislature in 1764, it is known for its undergraduate Open Curriculum, which has no common required core. Christina H. Paxson, president since July 2012, announced on August 3, 2026, that the 2026–27 academic year would be her last in office. As of October 1, 2026, the search for Brown's 20th president remained underway.Open the full entry, he made First Team All-Ivy in 1991, then took two years off wrestling to prepare for the 1992 Olympics in judo, and on his return won the Eastern Championships as a junior; he graduated in 1994 with a BA in business economics.⁠[3]

At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics he placed joint 20th in the men’s half-lightweight event, the first of his four Olympic Games.⁠[4]

In 1995 he won another bronze medal at the World Championships in Chiba, Japan.⁠[1]

He won the German Open World Masters in 1995 and 1997 and the Tournoi de Paris in 1998.⁠[5]

In 1996 he won the bronze medal in the men’s 71 kg class at the Atlanta Olympics.⁠[1]

He has owned and operated the Pedro’s Judo Center dojo since 1996.⁠[6]

In 1999 he won the 73 kg title at the World Championships in Birmingham, England, the most important title of his career.⁠[7]

At the Pan American Games he won two golds and a bronze: half-lightweight bronze in Havana in 1991, and lightweight gold in Mar del Plata in 1995 and in Winnipeg in 1999.⁠[4]

He entered the 2000 Sydney Olympics as a gold medal favorite and won four straight matches, including a victory over the 1996 Olympic champion, but was thrown for ippon by his rival from Belarus in the bronze-medal match; it was billed as his last major international tournament, and he said he would spend more time with his family and start a new life.⁠[8]

After placing fifth at the 2000 Games and retiring, he returned from retirement, inspired by his trip to the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.⁠[9]

In 2003 he completed his comeback, winning the British Open and national titles.⁠[5]

In 2004 he was inducted into the Brown University Athletics Hall of Fame for wrestling; at the time he was Manager of Olympic Sponsorship at Monster.com, its first Olympian employee.⁠[3]

At the 2004 Athens Olympics he won bronze in the 73 kg class with six wins and one loss, his only defeat coming in the third round against 2003 world champion Won Hee Lee of Korea; he thus became the first U.S. judo player to win two Olympic medals.⁠[2]

He was inducted into the USA Judo Hall of Fame class of 2008 as an athlete; by then he ran his own program, USA Judo National Team FORCE, in Wakefield, Massachusetts, and headed the USA Judo Elite U-23 Team.⁠[9]

USA Judo named him head coach of the 2009 World Team, leading 14 U.S. athletes at the Worlds in Rotterdam, Netherlands, from August 26 to 30, five of them from his club; athletes he coached had earlier made the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team, among them Ronda Rousey, a World and Olympic bronze medalist.⁠[10]

In 2010 he was inducted into the United States Judo Federation Hall of Fame; its citation notes that he coaches and teaches in Wakefield and quotes his approach: “it’s not about winning, it’s about trying and doing your best.”⁠[7]

As head coach of the U.S. Olympic judo team at the London Games, he coached Kayla Harrison from the corner to the 78 kg gold medal, the first Olympic gold for an American judo athlete; Harrison had trained for six years at Pedro’s Judo Center, which he runs with his father, Jim Pedro Sr., in Wakefield.⁠[11]

The 2016 Rio Olympics were his second Games as head coach of the U.S. Olympic judo team.⁠[12]

On August 11 he coached Kayla Harrison to a second Olympic gold medal; he called his student surpassing his own record “the sign of a great coach.” Harrison noted at her press conference that her teammate Travis Stevens had also won a silver medal at these Games.⁠[13]

He has said that from 2009 to 2016 he was essentially a volunteer head coach; in 2017, after it was decided he would no longer coach for USA Judo, he and Travis Stevens began work on the American Judo System.⁠[14]

In 2018 he was inducted into the International Judo Federation (IJF) Hall of Fame.⁠[5]

On his 50th birthday he and Travis Stevens launched the American Judo System website, stating that the governing body USA Judo had nothing to do with it.⁠[14]

He appeared on episode #236 of the Lex FridmanLex FridmanLex Fridman is a Soviet-born, US-raised computer scientist and podcast host who works as an MIT research scientist on human-AI interaction and autonomous driving. His Lex Fridman Podcast is known for hours-long conversations with guests including heads of state and technology leaders.Open the full entry Podcast, which introduced him as a judo competitor and coach, world champion, three-time world medalist and two-time Olympic medalist; topics included judo throws and gripping, the Russian approach to randori, the IOC, his father Jimmy Pedro Sr., Travis Stevens and Kayla Harrison, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and advice for young people.⁠[15]

He attended the 2024 Veterans World Judo Championships in Las Vegas as an equipment supplier and sponsor, saying that as an official IJF supplier he continued to support judo’s growth in the United States, and looked ahead to the Los Angeles Olympics.⁠[16]

He ran for the Coach Director seat on the USA Judo Board of Directors; in his candidate statement he described himself as CEO of FUJI Mats LLC and Hatashita Enterprises LLC, criticized the 2020 and 2024 quadrennials as producing no Olympic or World Championship medals for U.S. judo, and set a goal of helping launch 1,000 dojos by 2028.⁠[6]

The election closed on October 10, 2024; he received 128 votes, and Ari Miller was elected Coach Director for the 2025–2028 term with 191 votes.⁠[17]

As of October 2026 he owns and operates Pedro’s Judo Center in Wakefield, Massachusetts, serves as President of FUJI Mats and Vice President of Hatashita / FUJI Sports, and teaches clinics and seminars across the country.⁠[18]

Personal website: Public link: https://www.jimmypedro.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[15]

X: Public account: https://x.com/jimmypedrousa (opens in a new window)⁠[15]

USA Judo: Official website: https://www.usajudo.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[17]