Maria Pekli

Maria Pekli (born 12 June 1972 in Baja, Hungary) is an Australian judoka of Hungarian descent. She was Australian Champion in the ‍–‍57 kg division for seven consecutive years, between 1997 and 2003.

Maria Pekli
Personal information
Born12 June 1972 (1972-06-12) (age 52)
Baja, Hungary
OccupationJudoka
Sport
CountryHungary, Australia
SportJudo
Weight class–57 kg
Rank     5th dan black belt[1]
Achievements and titles
Olympic Games (2000)
World Champ.5th (1993, 2003)
Regional finals (1996)
(2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008)
Commonwealth Games (2002)
Medal record
Women's judo
Representing  Australia
Olympic Games
2000 Sydney ‍–‍57 kg
Oceania Championships
2000 Sydney ‍–‍57 kg
2002 Wellington ‍–‍57 kg
2003 Suva ‍–‍57 kg
2004 Nouméa ‍–‍57 kg
2008 Christchurch ‍–‍57 kg
Commonwealth Games
2002 Manchester ‍–‍57 kg
Representing  Hungary
European Championships
1996 The Hague ‍–‍56 kg
European Junior Championships
1989 Athens ‍–‍52 kg
Profile at external databases
IJF15909
JudoInside.com2710
Updated on 1 June 2023

She won a bronze medal in the lightweight (57 kg) division at the 2000 Summer Olympics,[2] the first Australian woman to win an official Olympic Judo medal (although Suzanne Williams won a medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics when Women's Judo was a demonstration sport).

Along with Cuba's Driulys González and Japan's Ryoko Tamura-Tani, Pekli became in 2008 the first female judoka to compete at five Olympics. The only other judokas to compete at five Olympics are Belgian Robert Van de Walle and Puerto Rican judoka-bobsledder Jorge Bonnet.

In 2011, Pekli was awarded Life Membership of Judo Australia for her contribution to the sport at the Australian National Judo Championships.

Achievements
YearCompetitionVenuePositionNotes
2008Olympic GamesBeijing, China 5thLightweight (57 kg)
2003World Judo ChampionshipsOsaka, Japan 5thLightweight (57 kg)
2002Commonwealth GamesManchester, England 1stLightweight (57 kg)
2000Olympic GamesSydney 3rdLightweight (57 kg)
1996European Judo ChampionshipsThe Hague, Netherlands 2ndLightweight (56 kg)
1995European Judo ChampionshipsBirmingham, England 7thLightweight (56 kg)
1993World Judo ChampionshipsHamilton, Ontario, Canada 5thLightweight (56 kg)

References
  1. "IJF Dan Grades Awardees" (PDF). International Judo Federation. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  2. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Maria Pekli". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016.


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