Jimmy Pedro says the dream was born in front of his TV set during the 1980 and 1984 Olympic Games.
Of course, as a kid he was clueless about what it would take to make the U.S. Olympic Team. But it piqued his curiosity.
"It didn't become a reality for me until I was 15 years old and started maturing in high school (at St. John's Prep in Danvers)," said Pedro, now 37, who now lives in Methuen with his wife, Marie, and their four children. "That's when I stopped playing football and baseball and began focusing on one thing."
Pedro's concentration was on judo, a sport which to this day is still obscure to most Americans. Under the tutelage of his disciplinarian father, Jim Sr., who was an alternate for the 1976 U.S. Olympic judo team, Pedro started learning the sport at age 5.
By the time he stopped competing in 2004, Pedro had gone to four consecutive Summer Olympic Games — Barcelona in '92, Atlanta in '96, Sydney in 2000 and Athens in '04 — and was the most decorated judoka in the history of the United States.
Pedro won the bronze medal in Atlanta and again in Athens, an unprecedented feat for an American judo player. He also captured the world championship in 1999, becoming the first U.S. judoka to take gold in that competition since Mike Swain in 1987.
Basically, Pedro did it all in his sport. From 1990 to 2004, he won 26 gold medals, seven silver and 18 bronze in major events throughout the world. He also recorded a fifth place finish at the 2000 Olympics and placed fifth at the '93 World Championships in Hamilton, Canada.
Pedro flew to Japan 40 different times and to Europe on many other occasions just to train and prepare, because that's where the greatest judokas were anchored. He made enormous sacrifices along the way, calculating in his own mind whether it would be worth it.
"We sacrificed financially for a long time, living with my in-laws for 10 years while I was married and in training," said Pedro. "It was a huge sacrifice because while my peers were climbing the corporate ladder, I was just trying to make ends meet and advance in judo. And from a family standpoint, I missed birthday parties and Mother's Days and Father's Days.
"It was tough (to miss those things), but it's the time of your life. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I was young enough where I could do it all and then move on. Now I have time to be with my kids and help them reach their potential with whatever they choose to do."
To qualify for the U.S. Olympic team four times in a row was a phenomenal accomplishment, but Pedro was never satisfied with just that. He was favored to win gold in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney and when he finished fifth, it didn't sit well with him. He retired for two years, then began the arduous process of coming back to compete in Athens in '04, where he earned his second Olympic bronze.
"When I lost in Sydney, I was in the prime of my (athletic) life and didn't want to leave judo on such a down note," said Pedro. "So I pursued it again, took one last shot at it. No American had ever (won two Olympic medals). It was one hell of a run — and I ended my career with a win."
Pedro's legacy is secure. The challenge for young American judokas is to duplicate or surpass what he's done. Until somebody else comes along, Pedro is the standard bearer and role model for judo players in this country.
