Jeff DiMarco enjoyed success at the Canadian National Judo Championships in Calgary on the May long weekend, bringing home a gold medal.
He competed in the veterans category of athletes 50 years old plus and in the weight class of under 66 kg.
“There were only three in my group so it was pretty small.”
To qualify, you have to be old, he said chuckling.
“There are not that many people competing in Canada in that age group to have to qualify. In the younger groups they usually have to qualify within their provinces. They are nicer to the old folks.”
The competition was a round robin format.
“We fought each other once. I beat the other guys each once. The guy that I beat for first has beat me the last few times we met,” DiMarco said. “It was a bit of a redemption, I guess, but he will get me next time.”
DiMarco is the sole teacher for the Williams Lake Judo Club with students ranging from children to teenagers and some adults.
He started judo and karate as a child in Williams Lake in 1977. It was mostly for self defence, he recalled, but six weeks after he started his family moved to Port Hardy.
About five years later he found judo in Grade 11 and then again while attending the University of Victoria where he was part of the Victoria judo club.
“I have been doing it since then,” he said. “When we moved to Williams Lake 25 years ago I joined the club here. It had just started. We used to train with the jujitsu group but when they folded we carried on.”
DiMarco is a massage therapist alongside his wife Cheryl Di Marco. They have three adult children and one grandchild.
