TROY, N.Y. -- His name is Travis Stevens. His height is 6 feet and his weight is 178 pounds. The 21-year-old Glenville resident is a judo fighter. He trains at Jason Morris' Judo Center, but he competes around the world.
"This is kind of my entire world. I live and die for this," said Stevens.
A world that just got a little sweeter. Two weeks ago Stevens traveled to the Pan-Am Games in Brazil with the hopes of bringing home a bronze at best. He took on one of the best judo fighters in the world and the Glenville underdog won the gold.
"Unbelievable. I was completely shocked," said Stevens.
"Believe me he doesn't know what a big deal it is. He's only 21 but he'll realize this 10 years from now," said Coach Jason Morris.Morris says his student's passion for the sport landed him the gold.
"He's a good example of not a lot of skill but a lot of heart and determination. He came to us almost a year ago with the heart and determination there, and we added the technical skills," said Morris.
Stevens chalks it up to being fearless.
"I don't have a real fear of losing because losing in my opinion just makes me better because it gives me something to come back here and work with Jason on," said Stevens.
Jason Morris, a 4-time Olympian and 1992 silver medalist himself, calls judo a test of the mind and body.
"It feeds my soul. It's this amazing physical workout, plus it's like a chess match," said Morris.
And it's checkmate for Stevens. But he says he can't take one victory for granted with so much ahead of him. He leaves for the German Open on Wednesday and after that comes the world championships.FONTE: Capital News 9 - Albany, NY, USA
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