Women’s judo wasn’t allowed into the Olympics until 1988, after martial arts champion Rusty Kanokogi threatened to sue the International Olympic Committee for discrimination. This helped earn her the nickname, “the mother of women’s judo.”
Her daughter, Jean Kanokogi, remembers a physically powerful figure with a presence so imposing “You didn’t even have to turn around, because you felt that she was in that room.”
Eve Aronoff Trivella was coached by Rusty on the first U.S. women’s judo team at the 1988 games. At StoryCorps, she and Jean remembered what that competition meant to Rusty… and a pivotal moment from her early life that brought her there.
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Originally aired July 19, 2024, on NPR’s Morning Edition.