Chris Velazco
Hailing from Coral Springs, Florida, Chris Velazco trains at Ki-itsu-sai National Training Center and represents the New York Athletic Club. Coming in as the #3 seed in the -60kg category, Chris is ready to make a strong impact. This year, he secured the title at the Pan American-Oceania Championships, won gold at the Varadero Junior Pan American Cup, and the Tunis Juniors African Cup. He also took home a silver medal from the Paks European Cup.
Chris will be in action on the first day of competition, where he faces Italy’s Vincenzo Manferlotti in the opening round.
Dominic Rodriguez
Another Florida native, Dominic Rodriguez represents Ki-itsu-Sai National Training Center, Chief Pride Judo Club, and the New York Athletic Club. Competing in the -81kg category as the #4 seed, Dominic has seen success in both junior and senior competitions. Previously, he claimed gold at the Senior Pan American-Oceania Championships in 2022 in the -73kg division. After moving up to -81kg, Dominic placed 7th at the Zagreb Grand Prix and won a senior African Open in Tunis. In junior events, he has also earned titles at the Junior Pan American-Oceania Championships and the Varadero Junior Pan American Cup, and took second at the Prague European Cup.
Dominic’s match on October 4th will be against either Emil Valchev of Bulgaria or Serbia’s Boris Rutovic, a former cadet world champion.
Daniel Liubimovski
Training at the Colton Brown Training Center in New Jersey, Daniel is one of the younger members of the Hatashita team. Still competing in the U18 cadet categories, he has already made a name for himself by winning bronze at the Cadet Pan American-Oceania Championships and in Berlin. Daniel is the current Junior Pan American-Oceania Champion in the -100kg category and achieved a commendable 5th place at the Prague European Cup.
Ranked #15 in the world, Daniel will face Luka Ekvtimishvili from Georgia on the fourth day of competition.
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