Emory’s Own Olympic Athlete?

Emory’s Own Olympic Athlete?

By Alex Dawson Posted: 04/28/2008

Although you have probably never heard of him, senior Ross MacBaisey is arguably the most accomplished athlete that Emory has produced in quite a while. MacBaisey, a National College Champion in judo the past two years, has turned his attention to qualifying for this summer’s Olympic games in Beijing — and he has a serious fighting chance.

MacBaisey explains that judo is most similar to wrestling. The object is to throw the opponent on their back, or to pin them to the ground. However, unlike wrestling, there are also “submissions,” which are chokes, strangles or arm locks. One way to win a match is to get the opponent to give up while under one of these holds.

MacBaisey, who hails from San Diego, has been practicing judo since he was 7 years old. From the time he first stepped into the ring, he says he has always enjoyed the sport. He was a star early on, winning competitions throughout his youth.

Throughout middle and high schools, MacBaisey continued to train and win competitions. In 2004, he attempted to qualify for the Olympics, but barely missed making the qualifying trials.

After this failed attempt, he decided to focus on his studies and take a break from judo. Although San Jose State University boasts the best judo team in the country, MacBaisey chose academics over athletics and came across the country to Emory.

“After I got into college, I figured I’d just take a break for a while,” he said. “There weren’t too many good judo clubs I’d heard of in Atlanta, so I decided to focus on graduating college.”

But once at Emory, MacBaisey felt the itch to return to practicing judo. He found local clubs and began competing advanced competition.

“I just wanted to keep training,” he said. “I enjoy practice and working out, and I just figured I’d give it a shot.”

In order to remain in peak shape, MacBaisey practices five days a week at local judo clubs. He also lifts weights, does cardio workouts and eats a meticulous diet. Also, like other competitors, he must lose between seven and eight pounds of mostly water weight during the days leading up to his matches. This is so that he can qualify for the weight class he fights in.

Since returning to the ring as a college star, MacBaisey has enjoyed a great deal of success.

In March, MacBaisey traveled to Wisconsin for the Youth and Scholastic National Championships, where he finished first place in the 81 kg weight class. MacBaisey also won the a National Championship in 2007.

By taking first place in his weight class, McBaisey guided the Emory team to a tie for third place in the country, despite being the only representative for the school.

After success in the collegiate National Championships, MacBaisey is currently working hard to prepare for the Olympic trials in June. In each weight class, eight people compete for one spot on the USA Olympic team. MacBaisey is currently ranked fifth in his weight class.

However, even though he will need an upset victory, he is optimistic about his chances to potentially qualify for Beijing.

“On any given day it’s really easy to — like in boxing — throw a ‘knock-out punch.’ You can be losing, and then you can come back and win. It’s really easy to do that at a high level in judo,” he said.

MacBaisey hopes this will be the case come June, when he competes in the Olympic Trials in Las Vegas.

— Contact Alex Dawson

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