Taraje Williams-Murray hoping to strike gold for U.S. in judo

MIAMI - Taraje Williams-Murray knew exactly what he was getting into when he started competing in judo at age 8.

Though the 2004 Olympian is ranked No. 1 in the nation at 60 kilograms and is favored to make his second Olympic trip to Beijing this summer, he still isn't well-known outside the judo community.

With the help of 2004 Olympian Rhadi Ferguson of Boca Raton and the growing popularity of mixed martial arts, particularly in South Florida, the elite level judoka hopes to change all that.

"The big picture is getting an Olympic gold medal," said Williams-Murray, 23, the fourth of sixth children whose Swahili name Taraje means "to expect."

"No American judo player has ever won the Olympics, male or female," Williams-Murray said. "It's obviously one of the toughest things to do, period. But things have been going very well for me. I am finally in a situation where I am able to focus and concentrate solely on judo."

Williams-Murray is among more than 200 athletes from 22 countries competing in the Pan American Championships and Olympic Zone Cup today through Sunday at the James L. Knight Center.

World-class athletes from Central, South and North America, as well as the Caribbean, will compete. Cuba is sending a 22-member delegation, including four current and former world champions, to the final qualifier for the 2008 Olympic Games at Beijing.

Williams-Murray, who had won 21 straight in 2007, is expected to qualify for a spot for the U.S. team on Friday when he competes. After that it's the U.S. Olympic trials in June.

Ferguson has been Williams-Murray's ….Strength and conditioning coach, Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor and mentor since 2005. They met on a national tour in 2002 and were 2004 Olympic teammates.

Williams-Murray is featured in a project called Beyond The Rings that Ferguson is currently working on at www.beyondtherings.com. Ferguson also blogs frequently about the sport's young superstar and judo on www.thejudocrusader.com. Williams-Murray, a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, also has his own blog.

"After 2004, I looked at Taraje as someone who can medal at the Olympics," Ferguson said. "I see an opportunity that he has the potential to be a superstar on and off the mat."

Williams-Murray, a home-schooler who graduated high school at 15, moved in January to Boston where he is working on his master's degree. He trains full-time with coaches Jimmy Pedro and Arkadily Aronov at the New York Athletic and Spartak Sports clubs with the USA Judo National Team FORCE.

"I fell in love with this sport at a very young age. … It just came naturally to me and I was very good at it," Williams-Murray said. "This sport is moving into the mainstream slowly. … It is slowly getting more popular and I don't feel slighted by it. I think after the Olympics are over and I do have a medal to show, it will be a good time for me."

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In 2005, Rhadi Ferguson walked away from the sport of judo as one of the best Judo players in the country. He achieved that status of Olympian and won 4 National Championships in the Sport of Judo.

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