7 Medals for Hatashita at Junior Pan Ams

On April 19, 2025, the Junior Pan American-Oceania Championships were held in Lima, Peru, where 11 Hatashita Sports / FUJI-sponsored athletes proudly represented Team USA. The team had a strong showing overall, earning four silver and six bronze medals. Hatashita-supported judoka contributed to this success with seven medals of their own!

Double Podium Finishes for Team USA

Two weight divisions saw double podium finishes for the U.S., with two Hatashita athletes sharing the spotlight:

Men’s 66 kg Division

• 🥈 Lenny Sheynfeld won his first Junior Pan Am medal, earning silver.

• 🥉 Jacob Yang claimed his third consecutive Junior Pan Am bronze.

Sheynfeld impressed with an ippon win over Yang Lama (ECU), a narrow yuko victory over teammate Jonathan Yang in the quarters, and another ippon over Fabricio Meyer (CHI) in the semis. In the final, he faced world #8 Bruno Nobrega (BRA), falling by two waza-aris.

Jacob Yang rebounded after his quarterfinal loss to Sheynfeld with repechage wins over Lama and Mateo Condor (PER), then secured bronze with a strong performance, scoring two waza-aris against Xavion Johnson (BAH).

Men’s 60 kg Division

• 🥈 Christopher Velazco added a silver medal to his resume.

• 🥉 Jonathan Yang continued his streak with another bronze.

Velazco, a reigning junior national champion and three-time cadet champ, defeated Angel Hernandez Solon (GUA) by ippon, Vincent Nepton (CAN) by waza-ari, and Eduardo Sagastegui (MEX) by yuko to reach the finals. He fell to Jhonathan Benevides (ECU) by ippon.

Yang, the reigning Cadet World Champion, earned his spot on the podium with an ippon win over Darwin Josue Hernandez (COL) and a penalty win over Galo Villavicencio (ARG). After losing in the semis to Benevides, he returned to the mat to claim bronze with a decisive ippon against Yoel Hernandez (CUB).

Additional Podium Finishes

Men’s 90 kg Division
🥈 Oleksandr Nyzhnyk, the returning Junior Pan Am Champion, made it back to the final and earned silver after a close waza-ari loss to Jesse Barbosa (BRA). He advanced with victories over Tomas Quinteros (ARG) and Naysdel Cardoso (CUB).

Men’s 100 kg Division
🥉 Daniel Liubimovski added a bronze to his Pan Am medal collection, which already includes gold (2024) and silver (2023). He defeated Franck David Moussima Ewane Elouti (CAN) with two waza-ari throws before falling by yuko to eventual gold medalist Zail Ramirez (CUB). He came back strong with an ippon win over Marko Figueroa (CHI) to secure bronze.

Men’s 81 kg Division
🥉 Daniel Shulgin captured his first junior medal with a bronze. The 2024 cadet gold medalist edged out Alem Yuma (ARG) by yuko in the quarterfinals, then narrowly lost to Arthur Karpukov (CAN) in the semis. Shulgin closed strong, landing two waza-aris against Alexander Cesar (CUB) for the win.

Congratulations to all Team USA athletes, and especially to our Hatashita Sports / FUJI team members on a stellar showing in Lima! We’re proud to support the next generation of judo champions. 🥋🇺🇸