Anthony Turner, Taraje Williams-Murray on way to U.S.

Olympic judo team

Anthony Turner and Taraje Williams-Murray won to be among judokas who qualified
their weight classes for the upcoming Beijing Games on Sunday at the Olympic Zone
Cup at the James L. Knight Center in Miami.

At least 10 U.S. athletes will be competing at the Summer Olympics in Beijing following
the completion of a two-year qualifying process.

Team USA qualified in women's 48kg, 57 kg and 70 kg and men's 60 kg, 66 kg, 73 kg,
81kg, 90 kg, 100 kg and plus-100 kg.

Athletes from a nation had to be ranked in the top-three women and top-six men in a
weight division from among the 42 Pan American countries.

Athletes must still qualify individually at the upcoming U.S. trials. All 14 Olympic
weight divisions will be contested June 13-14 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas
where the judo trials will be held simultaneously with wrestling trials.

Williams-Murray, who works with Boca Raton's Rhadi Ferguson, a 2004 Olympian, won
the 60-kg class and looks to be headed for his second Olympic team spot.

Turner, of Miami, knocked off Jose Vazquez of the Dominican Republic in the 100-plus
kg class, avenging an earlier loss to Vazquez, who had beaten Turner on Thursday in the
bronze medal match of the Pan American Tournament.

The victory gives Turner the No. 6 slot, enabling a U.S. heavyweight to compete in
Beijing.

During the week of competition, the Cuban national team collected 15 gold medals. But a
member of the Cuban women's team left the squad at some point Sunday afternoon.

"All we can say for sure right now is that she has left the premises and that she is no
longer with the team," USA Judo president Jose Rodriguez said.

No Cuban Olympic team had visited Miami in more than 40 years.

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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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Athlete - Rhadi Ferguson

At 27 years old Rhadi Ferguson has positioned himself as the man to beat in the US at
100 kg. Ferguson, who started judo at the age of 7, has blossomed into the top contender
to make the 2004 US Olympic team.

Rhadi has enjoyed a great deal of success in the last two years which included winning
a gold medal at the 2001 US Open, a gold at the 2001 Sr. Nationals, a bronze at the 2001
NY Open, a silver at the 2002 Sr. Nationals and a bronze at the 2002 NY Open. Bowie,
Maryland has been Ferguson's main training site under coach Lloyd Irvin the last few
years, but just moved to the Olympic Training Center (OTC) in Colorado Springs, CO.
Rhadi had some previous stints at the OTC and also spent time in San Jose. "I love
training at the OTC and San Jose State University. I'm not saying that these are the best
places to train or that they are the absolute best for me, but they are my favorite places to
train," said Ferguson. "The roughest place for me was Tokai University in Japan. I took a
daily beating from Kosei Inoue and others, but managed to dish out what I had been
getting in the second week I was there," Ferguson continued.

Rhadi has a great attitude toward his competitive career. This was his response when
asked about his loss in the finals of the 2002 Nationals. "I am a firm believer in Jesus
Christ and I understand that winning and losing is already predetermined through choices
and preparation. After losing the finals, I smiled and took the loss like a champ takes a
loss. It wasn't my time, it was Mike Barnes' time and as a Christian, I accept that, move
on a reevaluate how I prepared to be ready for the next match up."
 Ferguson also has some fantastic thoughts on judo and an athlete's character. "Judo is
such a great sport because it's not always fair which is a good lesson for anybody to learn.
Life is not fair and you may not agree with the twists and turns in the road as you go, but
you learn life is not lived, it is managed. Once you understand how to negotiate and
navigate life's terrain you will certainly grow morally, ethically, and spiritually. The
lessons, problems, and bumps that life presents you with gives you an opportunity to
react. How you react inevitably determines your character. I know, that one thing that I
watch at a Judo tournament is how people react when they lose. Their behavior illustrates
their character. As I told Alex Ottiano in Italy this year, anybody can be the hammer, but
it takes one hell of a person to be the nail! You show me a good nail and I'll show you a
person who knows how to handle being the hammer!" said Ferguson.

On top of his Judo success, Ferguson completed his Master of Arts of Teaching degree
at Howard University in May of 2002 with a 4.0 GPA. On June 30, he marries longtime
girlfriend Traci Lynn Thompson who is a graduate of Georgetown University in '96 and
in '00 from Johns Hopkins Medical School, making 2002 a great year for Rhadi.

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Athlete – Rhadi ferguson

2004 Olympian and Coach Rhadi Ferguson Awarded the United States Olympic
Committee Sports Science Award of the Year for Judo at the 2007 USA Judo National
Championships

Miami, Florida, April 21, 2007 - 2004 Olympian Rhadi Ferguson retired from Judo in
2005 after winning four National Championships and becoming one of the top 16 players
in the World in Athens, Greece. Although he has retired from competing, once again, he
did not leave the National Championships empty-handed. Ferguson was awarded the
United States Olympic Committee's Sports Science Award of the Year for Judo.

Since retiring in 2005 Ferguson has produced and co-produced 14 DVDs on <b>strength
and conditioning, judo </b>and information on how to win at sport and life. He has
produced fitness products, books and constantly promotes the sport of Judo while
coaching his athletes to the top echelon in sport.
In 2005 Rhadi aided two of his clients to Gold medals at the 2005 US Open. In that same
year, both of his clients finished in the top 10 in their respective weight classes at the
World Judo Championships. In 2006 Rhadi Ferguson was a key presenter at the
<b>National Strength and Conditioning</b> Associations National Conference and he
spoke on a subject matter for which he is an expert - Bodyweight Training.

In that same year Rhadi taught at several USA Judo Coaching Clinics and achieved the
status of an "A" level Coach which makes him eligible to coach at the Olympic Games
and the World Championships. Rhadi is also a contributing editor of Grappling Magazine
and does his best to elevate the strength and conditioning as well as nutritional practices
for those in the martial arts and judo communities.

This past weekend at the 2007 USA Judo Nationals, both of Rhadi Ferguson's clients won
the National Championship in their respective weight classes and one of his clients Taraje
Williams-Murray is going to represent the United States at the 2007 World
Championships and Pan American Games in Judo. Taraje has been on a blistering streak
since partnering with Rhadi Ferguson and is on-track to medal at the World
Championships.

The beautiful thing about Rhadi is that he has not confined his talents to the Judo mat.
Rhadi is the only Olympian Judo Player to also hold a black belt in Brazilian Jiujitsu and
he is the only "A" ranked Judo Coach in the country to have coached, not only in high
level judo tournaments but also at the Pride Fighting Championships and the Ultimate
Fighting Championships.

When asked about the award Ferguson said,<b> "It has always been my goal to raise the
bar in my sport.</b> I truly believe there is a void in terms of having a professional
approach when it comes to proper preparation in sport. Having a collaborative sports
science approach which includes but is not limited to strength and conditioning, sports
psychology and sound rehabilitative practices is imperative. It is the only way to ensure
optimum performance. A lot of people confine sports science to resistance training - it is
so much more than that. The lack of understanding of that 'small' fact can make-or-break
your client's success."

Because of Ferguson's many accomplishments in Judo and the grappling arena as a

Coach at the 2007 USA National Championships USA Judo Awarded Rhadi Ferguson
with the 2006 Sports Science Award of the Year.

Rhadi Ferguson has a host of websites and resources available to all interested. In
celebration of his receiving this award Rhadi has decided to give away, instead of sell, his
new book and Audio CDs in electronic format as free downloads. His new product titled
"Coaching Success Secrets" is available for free at
www.TheKingOfStrengthAndConditioning.com

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Courage of the Fight
Armed with the best America has to offer in judo, Rhadi Ferguson will accept nothing less than gold in Athens.

Growing up, Rhadi Ferguson clearly knew that being average would never be good enough. Not for him and
not for a future Olympian, anyway.

He knows what it feels like to be close enough to the glory of the medal stant, only to watch from the side
while already preparing for what would lie ahead in the next four years. And while the American backdrop leading
to Athens is clouded in scandals of athletes possibly breaking the rule to gain an advantage, Ferguson relies on
his mental rigidity to guide his crafted physical condition.

His sport, judo, not only requires the combination in order to ensure success, it demands it.

“A judo player is likened to a chess player,” Ferguson revealed. “You have to be able to be intelligent and think
at least three or four moves ahead. I’ve never seen a dumb judo player in my life. It’s just not possible because
there’s too much thinking required in the game.”

However, it is Ferguson’s mind that has held him intact since he took up judo from ages 7 to 13, and guided
him when he became serious about the sport as an adult. His ability to excel and adapt to a range of sports
earned him a full athletic scholarship in football while at Howard University and he used the opportunity to also
wrestle and run track.

“I wanted to get back into judo, but the closest thing was wrestling,” Ferguson said. “I wrestled in Division I,
but I got crushed until I learned how to do it. But I did okay the next two following years.”

But the story of the breed of judo player he is today is not without the bittersweet trends and victories that
draw us all to sports. Ferguson has witnessed a great deal since he has competed professionally, including
making the 2000 Olympics as an alternate and not participating, to career-threatening injuries, to making this
year’s team and standing at the forefront of America’s quest to capture gold in judo.

While he tries to ensure that every performance in competition is worthwhile and his best to date, what
Ferguson has experience in the past four years would have sent other athletes into early retirement, regardless
the sport.

“It was down movement for me in 2000, when there were no Olympic trials [for judo] and I was only there as
an alternate,” he said. “In 2003 when I had an excellent tour in Europe and won tours and in August, in a tune up
match, I ripped my lateral collateral ligament in my knee down to the bone. That injury takes nine months to
heal. I needed surgery, rehab, keep my number one ranking an go to the Olympic trials in June. I came back in 5
months.”

The injury proved to be the catapult to his current stance as a competitor who can almost envision himself in
nothing less than gold next month.

“It was a setback, but a setback is nothing more than a setup for a comeback,” he added.

Despite his flare for commanding dominance over the sports of his choice, Ferguson revealed that he, like
many minority youth, leaned toward the activities that were economically viable.

“A lot of people don’t realize what steers black athletes towards sports like track and field and basketball, with
the inability to jump over socioeconomic hurdles,” Ferguson explained. “To play basketball all you need is a pair of
shoes; the same with track. To play hockey, your parents have to buy rink time, equipment and most African
American parents aren’t getting up at five in the morning to take their kids to hockey practice when they have to
go to work.”

It’s a realistic trend that has left an abundance of blacks in some sports, while traditionally underrepresented
by others.

“There are a lot of boundaries, in terms of African Americans participating in those types of sports,” Ferguson
said. “I was fortunate because I was able to participate in an after-school program. People don’t realize how
important those programs are, especially in the community.”

And while some social hardships continue to skew the racial demographic of sports, Ferguson reflects on his
path and notes that his rising success has tested the limits of his personal life.
 He sticks to a firm regimen, and daily morning workout are a must at the U.S. Olympic training facility in
Colorado, where he is a resident. Ferguson has been married for two years, but his extensive travel and training
schedule has limited him to just four months total with his wife. The sacrifices also come in the funds needed to
compete in judo and his decision to leave a job at Texas Instruments in order to advance his progress.

“It’s been very difficult,” he said. “It requires a lot of money, sacrifice and travel. It’s no different than anything
else. You have to make some sacrifices to get what you want.”

And while he plan s to relocate with his wife to Boca Raton, FL, after Athens, the struggle has clearly paid off.

Aside from powering his way onto the Olympic team in June, Ferguson’s crop of accomplishments span from
wins and medals in the Pan American Championships, U.S. National Championships, Jiu-jitsu World
Championships, and four (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004) Liberty Bell Judo Tournament gold medals. The progression
to the Olympic stage only seems natural.

“I excel in any sport I touch,” Ferguson said. “It doesn’t matter what the sport is. If I put my mind to it, I’m
going to excel. But that has less to do with my athleticism and more to do with my mental resolve.”

Ferguson openly notes that you can work hard to achieve what you seek, but the playing field still isn’t
receptive to everyone.

“As an African American male, I know you can work hard and good things still may not happen,” he said.
“growing up, I was told that you need to work twice as hard. I learned that at Howard. And I came up with the
three Ps - plan, purpose and passion. In my plan I outlined goals and directives that needed to be accomplished.”

He uses a tone that eventually forces you to realize that his success is less about sports and more about the
power of the mind propelling the body.

“I don’t really push myself that much harder,” Ferguson said. “I go 110 percent all of the time. I don’t have
any halfway moments in my life. Life is too short to do things half way. There’s no down time. The time to relax is
when you die.”

That understanding was taught by his parents as a child and reinforced at Howard. Ferguson pulls no punched
when it comes to the value of education in an out of the classroom he received during college.

“I really appreciate the education, social and emotion development I received from a historically black college,”
he said. “You’re not going to get the development as an African American individual at any other university in the
world. Going to school is not just about cognitive development. A calculus book at Harvard and Howard are the
same book. So what’s the difference between the two schools?

He added, “The difference is that a bunch of people feed into the belief that one is better than the other. But if
you never went to either school, how would you know what was better? As an African American male, it’s my
duty to be bicultural and to operate in two worlds in America.”

Still, with the Olympics directly in his path, it’s obvious Ferguson is poised to bring more to the games than he
plans to take away.

“I want to make sure every move is purposeful,” he says. “Before you begin anything, you have to make sure
that the desire is there for competition so you can complete the task at hand. You have to find what you’re
passionate about and out your energies towards that.”
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