Junior Olympic Winners in Pittsburgh Earn Direct Qualification for 2024 Junior and Cadet World Championships
by Bill Kellick
Jonathan Yang (in white) was one of three athletes qualifying for both Cadet and Junior World Championship teams.
(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Twenty-six athletes earned direct qualification positions on the 2024 Junior and Cadet World Championship Teams through their gold medal wins at this past weekend’s USA Judo Junior Olympic National Championships in Pittsburgh, Pa.
The athletes who qualified in Pittsburgh to represent Team USA will be joined by wild card qualifiers who earned positions based on their national rankings with the complete team to be announced in the coming weeks.
All 15 members of the Cadet World Team qualifiers will have the opportunity to compete at the 2024 Cadet World Championships in Lima, Peru, from Aug. 28-31.
Women’s 44kg
Linda Dervisoglu, 14 (Dallas, Texas/Eastside Dojo), first-time Cadet Junior Olympic champion
Women’s 48kg
Zoe Dempsey, 16 (New Lenox, Ill./Cohen Brothers Judo Club), 2024 Cadet Pan Am Championships Team Member
Women’s 52kg
Aubrey Genereux, 15 (Port Saint Lucie/Ki-Itsu-Sai National Training Center), 2024 Cadet Pan Am bronze medalist
Women’s 57kg
Lily Oh, 15 (Ashburn, Va./Sport Judo), first-time Cadet Junior Olympic champion
Women’s 63kg
Jayda Fulp, 16 (Fort Worth, Texas/Chandler Judo Academy), No. 10 in Cadet World Rankings and 2024 Cadet Pan Am gold medalist
Women’s 70kg
Veronika Tatarenko, 15 (Bellevue, Wash./Ippon Judo Dojo), first-time Cadet Junior Olympic champion
Women’s +70kg
Juliana Marquez*, 17 (La Puente, Calif./Guerreros Judo), first-time Cadet Junior Olympic champion
Men’s 50kg
Dmitry Kondratev, 14 (Brooklyn, N.Y./Darfight), first-time Cadet Junior Olympic champion
Men’s 55kg
Henry Parsadanian, 16 (North Hollywood, Calif./Hayastan MMA Academy), 2024 Cadet Pan Am bronze medalist
Men’s 60kg
Jonathan Yang*, 17 (Los Angeles, Calif./L.A. Judo Club), No. 9 in Cadet World Rankings and 2024 Cadet Pan Am gold medalist
Men’s 66kg
Nihad Sultanli, 17 (Pittsburgh, Pa./Kim’s Martial Arts & Fitness), first-time Cadet Junior Olympic champion
Men’s 73kg
Anthony Farnot, 16 (Lehigh Acres, Fla./Ki-Itsu-Sai National Training Center), No. 1 in Cadet World Rankings and 2024 Cadet Pan Am gold medalist
Men’s 81kg
Daniel Shulgin, 16 (Philadelphia, Pa./Yawara Force), No. 5 in Cadet World Rankings and 2024 Cadet Pan Am gold medalist
Men’s 90kg
Christian Corchado, 15 (New Britain, Conn./New Britain Judo and Dynamic Arts), first-time Cadet Junior Olympic champion
Men’s +90kg
Daniel Liubimovski*, 16 (Staten Island, N.Y./Colton Brown Training Center), No. 7 in Cadet World Rankings and 2023 Cadet Pan Am gold medalist
The junior team qualifiers include three of the cadet qualifiers as well as returning Junior World Team members who will have the opportunity to compete in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, from Oct. 2-5:
Women’s 48kg
Natalie Pino, 17 (Hialeah, Fla./Budokan Judo School), 2024 Junior Pan Am Championships Team Member
Women’s 52kg
Harlee Hiller, 17 (Evanston, Ill./Cohen Brothers Judo Club), 2023 Junior Pan Am silver medalist at -48kg
Women’s 57kg
Jasmine Macias, 17 (La Puente, Calif./Guerreros Judo), 2023 Cadet Pan Am bronze medalist
Women’s 63kg
Emily Jaspe, 17 (Hialeah, Fla./Ki-Itsu-Sai National Training Center), #2 in Junior World Rankings and 2024 Junior Pan Am Gold Medalist
Women’s 70kg
Nancy Nguyen, 19 (San Jose, Calif./San Jose State University Judo), 2024 Junior Pan Am silver medalist
Women’s 78kg
Mackenzie Schultz, 16 (/Black Ice Judo), 2024 Junior Pan Am bronze medalist
Women’s +78kg
Juliana Marquez*, 17 (La Puente, Calif./Guerreros Judo), first-time Junior Olympic champion
Men’s 60kg
Jonathan Yang*, 17 (Los Angeles, Calif./L.A. Judo Club), 2024 Junior Pan Am bronze medalist
Men’s 66kg
Jacob Yang, 19 (Los Angeles, Calif./L.A. Judo Club), 2024 Junior Pan Am bronze medalist
Men’s 73kg
Steven Boldbaatar, 19 (Bellevue, Wash./Washington Judo Academy), 2024 Junior Pan Am Championships Team Member
Men’s 81kg
Dominic Rodriguez, 20 (Lehigh Acres, Fla./Ki-Itsu-Sai National Training Center/New York Athletic Club), No. 6 in Junior World Rankings and 2024 Junior Pan Am Gold Medalist
Men’s 90kg
Oleksandr Nyzhnyk, 19 (Los Gatos, Calif./Nakano Judo Academy), 2024 Junior Pan Am gold medalist
Men’s 100kg
Daniel Liubimovski*, 16 (Staten Island, N.Y./Colton Brown Training Center), #11 in Junior World Rankings and 2024 Junior Pan Am Gold Medalist
Men’s 100+kg
Alex Semenenko, 19 (Staten Island, N.Y./New York Athletic Club), 2023 Junior European Cup gold medalist
*Indicates qualifier for both Junior and Cadet World Teams.