Katz Duo Capture Bronze Medals
Castle Hill’s Olympian brothers Nathan and Josh Katz were a part of a very successful Australian judo squad coming home with bronze medals.
Both are members of Castl e Hill’s awardwinning Budokan Judo Club, run by their parents Kerryre and Rob Katz. Incidentally, Rob coached Kerryre when she was a part of the first Australian judo team at the 1988 Seoul Olympics when it was a demonstration sport. Now Rob coaches his two high-achieving sons.
Watching her sons fight was tough for Kerryre who told a reporter: “I was extremely nervous and (there were) lots and lots of tears at the end. I would much rather be fighting but that was a long time ago!”
Nathan, 27, scored a tough win over India’s Jasleen Singh Saini to win the bronze in the men’s 66kg class.
“I hadn’t fought in about six months, I’ve been injured just constantly,” Nathan said. “I hadn’t won a match before today since Tokyo 12 months ago so there was a lot of pressure to perform and show that I’m still at this level.
“I don’t really think I did that (perform) today but I did show that I’m at this level and I can win medals internationally, so I’m really happy.”
Josh, 24, who was one of the favourites, defeated Zambia’s Simon Zulu to claim bronze in the men’s 60kg event.
“I was here for gold but I’m still excited to come away with a medal for Australia,” he said For coach and Dad Rob, the medals were just a reward for the hard work his sons put in.
“The boys make a great family story with our judo background and they speak well so this helps,” Rob told the Hills to Hawkesbury Community News from Birmingham. “With two gold & eight bronze medals from 11 athletes, this Commonwealth Games was a historic achievement for an Australian judo team. The boys’ bronzes were solid achievements and they had to work hard for them. Of course, they both believe, as we do that they have it in them to win gold here, but it doesn’t always work the way you want.
“Judo at this level is very unforgiving. Kerrye and I are enormously proud of this and all their achievements. It’s the culmination of a lifetime of effort and resilience – their competition day was a good day full of heartache and relief.
“Both boys have represented at the highest level at the 2016 Rio Olympics and then Nathan again in Tokyo 2020. They are now both comfortable at this level and belong there. Just a matter of time before they reach their goals”.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][us_image image=”68763″ size=”full” align=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
