RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (WHDH) - United State Women’s Judo team member Kayla Harrison is looking for her second gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Harrison, who trains in Wakefield and lives in Danvers, became the first American to ever win a gold medal in judo when she took the top prize at the 2012 games in London.
“You dream your whole life, you plan your whole career for that one day and then you win but you didn’t prepare for what happened after you won because you can’t. You have no idea how your life changes in the blink of an eye,” said Harrison. The Ohio native told 7’s Nancy Chen she named her medal “Freddy” and brings him everywhere.
After London, Harrison discovered she had been competing with a dislocated knee and underwent major surgery. She was afraid she would not be able to do judo anymore but she said she got her fire back, with help from her coaches at Jimmy Pedro’s Judo Center in Wakefield.
“They’ve both been instrumental not just in my career but in my life,” said Harrison.
Harrison told Chen she is very proud of what she has accomplished outside of judo. After London, Harrison started the Fearless Foundation, dedicated to fighting sexual abuse. When she was 13, Harrison was sexually abused by her former judo coach. The abuse went on for years before he pleaded guilty. He is now serving a 10-year federal prison sentence.
“Sexual abuse is such a taboo still in our society,” said Harrison. “I wanted people to realize that it is really real and it does have a face and it looks like my face, or it looks like your face. This foundation isn’t for me, it’s for everyone else and I hope it changes the world.”
Harrison will compete for her second gold medal on Thursday.
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