Nicknamed “Little Mountain” , Guam’s Judo Olympian, Ric Blas was a Medal hopeful entering the Beijing games. Affable and certainly one of the physical standouts ( all 464 lbs of him)  of the Olympic athletes at the games, many were interested in the outcome of matches this young man was going to compete in.

His first match was against Georgia’s Lasha Gujejiani in the +100kg Judo Heavyweight preliminaries. After Gujejiani gained a half point he basically engaged in a strategy of non engagement to stay ahead with that small margin until the time was up. Blas would have had a chance to overpower his opponent if there was more engagement.

R.J was able to compete a 2nd time against U.S. Olympian Dan McCormick and it was really a decision based on penalties that decided that match against Blas.

Blas was disappointed at his loss but accepted it with dignity.   For those of us who have enjoyed his participation as part of Guam’s Olympic Delegation -Thanks for making us proud, RJ!

Blas takes opponents to the wire

Penalties prove costly for Blas in second match

BY JOJO SANTO TOMAS • PACIFIC DAILY NEWS • AUGUST 16, 2008

BEIJING— R.J. Blas went through a whirlwind of emotions yesterday during his judo competition at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The short story is that he fought and lost, then fought and lost again. He lost his first match to Lasha Gujejiani of Georgia, who lost the bronze medal match to former world champion Teddy Riner of France.

The long story is that he went the distance with the best the U.S. could offer, kept things close and lost by the slimmest of margins.

In Blas’ opening match, Gujejiani made a strong counter on a Blas attack early, kept a strong grip and half-threw Blas, resulting in a waza-ari, or half-point. The Georgian then spent much of the rest of the match protecting his powerful lead, even earning a penalty for inaction.

Blas’ coach, Atef Hussein, was disappointed that the Georgian wouldn’t engage, but as a former silver medalist for Egypt, he respected Gujejiani’s wily experience. He was proud of R.J., he said, and was happy that he earned the Olympic experience.

A second waza-ari came with just 39 seconds left in the match, ending it and presumably, Blas’ Olympic experience. R.J. Blas, the Little Mountain from Guam, was crushed.

Asked his thoughts after his first match, Blas took a long time to answer. Sweat poured down his bruised face as he tried to control his emotions. He wasn’t tired but there was no doubt he was emotionally drained. Just like every other Olympic athlete from Guam before him, he thought, he went one and done.

He had finished his first match, so he didn’t fail by his standards. But he had so wanted to fight more than once.

“I was confident. I thought I had him a couple of times. But I guess …” he trailed off and didn’t finish. He was sure Gujejiani wouldn’t make it to the semifinals, dashing his hope of getting a second fight.

“I’m sorry I let you down,” he said, after a long time, addressing the people of Guam. “Thank you for your support and, … God bless.”

But Gujejiani won, beating U.S.favorite Dan McCormick. And then Gujejiani won again, this time against an Iranian. He advanced far enough to give Blas another chance in the loser’s bracket.

Blas was matched up against McCormick, a 6-foot-5, 307-pound fighter who was nimble on his feet. Blas was familiar with his game, as he and McCormick both trained in Tokai, Japan, early last year and were friends.

The match was exciting. Neither player could secure any advantage. McCormick had no chance to throw Blas, who entered the contest at 464 pounds. But Blas, who stood six inches shorter against the burly mainlander, couldn’t get an advantage either.

It came down to penalties. It was tied early on with both players scoring a shido, a point awarded for an opponent retreating off the mat. As the minutes ticked by, McCormick scored another shido, but Blas answered that too and the two were tied again.

With 2:04 left, Blas nearly scored on a powerful throw but McCormick turned at the last second, preventing a point. He countered but Blas responded.

With 30 seconds to go, McCormick forced Blas off the mat again, gaining the advantage in points. Blas looked exhausted as he searched for a weakness that McCormick would not yield. Time ran out.

“Dan is a taller opponent and I gave him a run for his money, he’s a tough opponent, a well-respected opponent, and I did my best. Dan is just a tough opponent and he deserves his place,” said Blas. “I wish it could have gone some other way, but, … these are the consequences of my actions.”

McCormick lost his next match to Iranian Mohammad Rodaki and finished ninth. He was happy to have beaten Blas but would have preferred to fight someone else.

“It was a real technical match, it was just all penalties. It was hard, but I had a lucky couple calls there,” he said. “He’s definitely got weight on his side and he’s a strong kid. The whole time we were just trying to fight, trying to get better angles and control over each other. Of all the people here, I would want to fight him least. We’re pretty good friends.”