Six judokas make Ones to Watch list

Find out why Antonio Tenorio, Carmen Herrera Gomez, Jorge Hierrezuelo Marcillis, Dartanyon Crockett, Gwang-Geun Choi and Afag Sultanova are ones to watch. 12 Sep 2013

Azerbaijan's Afag Sultanova defeats Turkey's Duygu Cete in a semi-final match at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

ⒸGetty Images

By IPC

The Ones to Watch campaign showcases the sport’s top athletes, all of whom have medalled at the Paralympic Games and have a strong media presence in their home countries.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC), together with International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA), has picked out six of the world’s top judokas to watch on the road to upcoming major events and the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

The Ones to Watch campaign showcases the sport’s top athletes, all of whom have medalled at the Paralympic Games and have a strong media presence in their home countries.

Two unprecedented champions on the list have won numerous Paralympic gold medals.

Brazil’s Antonio Tenorio and Spain’s Carmen Herrera Gomez have a combined six Paralympic titles between them.

Tenorio has competed at the Paralympics since the Atlanta 1996 Games, while Herrera Gomez has won the women’s -70kg gold medal in every Paralympic Games since women’s judo was added in 2004.

Cuba’s Jorge Hierrezuelo Marcillis is on the list after winning the men’s -90kg gold medal in his first Paralympic Games in London. He has continued his winning ways since with two more international gold medals during the 2013 season.

Hierrezuelo Marcillis’ -90kg rival Dartanyon Crockett has also made the list.

USA judoka Crockett won his bronze medal in London 2012 after only three years competing. Crockett has been a trending topic on social media after being featured on ESPN’s Outside the Lines programme in America.

The Crockett-Hierrezuelo Marcillis rivalry is sure to heat up as they compete on their roads to Rio 2016.

South Korea’s Gwang-Geun Choi – London 2012 men’s -100kg gold medallist – and Azerbaijan’s Afag Sultanova – London 2012 women’s -57kg gold medallist – have also been included.

A number of activities will be implemented across print, online and social media in a concerted effort to boost the profiles of the Ones to Watch athletes and make them household names for years to come.

The IPC’s Ones to Watch campaign launched in the lead-up to London 2012, when a new section was included within Paralympic.org, entitled Ones to Watch. This series of pages was designed to raise the profiles of leading medal contenders in Paralympic sports and act as an essential media resource.