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Rusty was a larger-than-life personality and had an incredible and truly inspirational life story. In 1959, Rusty hid the fact that she was a woman and competed in a men's judo championship, winning the gold medal. When it was discovered that she was a woman, they forced her to return the medal even though she had won the competition. Her well-earned first place medal was ripped away from her because she was a woman. From that point on, Rusty had a new goal: to ensure that no woman would ever suffer such an indignity ever again! Often called a pioneer, Rusty was an unsung hero in the fight to give women a voice, in life and in sports. She became an advocate for all of women's sports and was the driving force behind holding the first Women's World Judo Championships in Madison Square Garden in 1980, then getting women's judo into the Olympics in 1988. In her own words, Rusty decided to “be the hammer,” not the nail.

Dr Jean is herself an amazing woman who has clearly used the drive and passion given to her from her parents to go on and be extremely successful in her own field as a special agent as well as within Judo. She has just completed the memoirs of Rusty which is available to buy from her website https://www.rustykanokogi.com I would recommend it to everyone.

This is something I am so excited about to hear the story of the woman who changed female sport forever from another inspirational lady, Jean.

We are offering this opportunity free of charge however you will have to email gordon@ultimatejudo.co.uk to receive the zoom code (different from normal code) numbers are limited.