Lynn Joyce Roethke (born June 22, 1961) is an American female judoka. Among her most notable accomplishments, Lynn is a two-time Olympic athlete, a Pan American gold medalist, and World Champion Silver medalist. She was the first female to be inducted to the Black Belt Hall of Fame and voted as Olympic Athlete of the Year.[2] She competed in the −61 kg division for most of her competitive career (early 1980s – late 1990s).

Lynn Roethke
Roethke with family in 1977
Personal information
Full nameLynn Joyce Roethke
BornJune 22, 1961 (1961-06-22) (age 62)
West Bend, Wisconsin, U.S.[1]
Alma materMarian College[1]
OccupationJudoka
Height162 cm (5 ft 4 in)[1]
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportJudo
Weight class‍–‍61 kg
Achievements and titles
Olympic GamesSilver (1988)
World Champ.Silver (1987)
Pan American Champ. (1990)
Medal record
Women's judo
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1988 Seoul ‍–‍61 kg
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 1987 Essen ‍–‍61 kg
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1987 Indianapolis ‍–‍61 kg
Silver medal – second place 1991 Havana ‍–‍61 kg
Pan American Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1990 Caracas ‍–‍61 kg
Profile at external databases
IJF41292
JudoInside.com3593
Updated on 18 June 2023.

Olympics edit

Roethke is a two-time US Olympic competitor for judo. Lynn competed in the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea where she would win the silver medal in the -61 kg (134 lbs) division. This would make her the first American woman to compete in the finals (the gold was won by Diane Bell of GBR). During these Olympics, women's judo was a demonstration sport, therefore did not count towards the USA's total medal count.[3][4] Lynn was also a member of the Olympic team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Lynn is also a Pan American Games Champion in Sambo.[5]

World Championships edit

Ms. Roethke won the silver medal in the 1987 World Judo Championships in Essen, West Germany. She was defeated by Diane Bell of GBR in the −61 kg division.[6]

Pan American Games edit

Roethke won the gold medal in the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis. She defeated Natasha Hernandez in the −61 kg division.[7] Ms. Roethke won the silver medal in the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba. She was defeated by Illeana Beltran in the −61 kg division.[8]

US National Championships edit

Roethke won the gold medal during 9 US National Championships.

  • 1984 Orlando, FL – defeated Kathy Dalton [9]
  • 1985 Farmington Hills, MI – defeated Kathy Dalton [10]
  • 1986 Honolulu, HI – defeated Tammy Otaka [11]
  • 1987 Pittsburgh, PA – defeated Kathy Dalton [12]
  • 1989 Tampa, FL – defeated Liliko Ogasawara[13]
  • 1990 San Diego, CA – defeated Brenda Day [14]
  • 1991 Honolulu, HI – defeated Brenda Day [15]
  • 1993 Indianapolis, IN – defeated Idiko Szasz [16]
  • 1994 Irvine, CA – defeated Hannelore Brown [17] in the −56 kg division

Bronze Medal

  • 1983 Los Angeles, CA – defeated by Robin Chapman (Judo) for gold, Cindy Sovljanski for silver.[13]
  • 1995 Indianapolis, IN – defeated by Corrina Broz for gold, Marissa Pedulla for silver [18] in the −56 kg division
  • 2004 Villa Park, IL – defeated by Valerie Gotay for gold, Colleen McDonald for silver [19] in the −56 kg division

Present edit

Lynn currently owns and operates Club Olympia in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, where she is a certified trainer and runs her own dojo, Club Olympia Judo.[1] She is an eighth degree black belt.[2]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Lynn Roethke". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Club Olympia Judo". clubolympiajudo.com. Archived from the original on October 5, 2015.
  3. ^ "OLYMPICS: CORRECTING THE REPORTING". judotalk.com. Archived from the original on February 17, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
  4. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Judo at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games: Women's Half-Middleweight". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016.
  5. ^ Scott, Steve (January 1, 2006). Championship Sambo: Submission Holds and Groundfighting. Turtle Press. ISBN 9781880336908 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ "1987 World Championships Essen". JudoInside. Archived from the original on August 1, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  7. ^ "1987 Pan American Games Indianapolis". JudoInside. Archived from the original on August 1, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  8. ^ "1991 Pan American Games Havana". JudoInside. Archived from the original on January 22, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  9. ^ "1984 US National Championships Orlando". JudoInside. Archived from the original on January 22, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  10. ^ "1985 US National Championships Farmington Hills". JudoInside. Archived from the original on August 1, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  11. ^ "1986 US National Championships Honolulu". JudoInside. Archived from the original on August 1, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  12. ^ "1987 US National Championships Pittsburgh". JudoInside. Archived from the original on August 1, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  13. ^ a b "1989 US National Championships Tampa". JudoInside. Archived from the original on January 19, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  14. ^ "1990 US National Championships San Diego". JudoInside. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  15. ^ "1991 US National Championships Honolulu". JudoInside. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  16. ^ "1993 US National Championships Indianapolis". JudoInside. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  17. ^ "1994 US National Championships Irvine". JudoInside. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  18. ^ "US National Championships Indianapolis". JudoInside. Archived from the original on January 20, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  19. ^ "US National Championships Villa Park Illinois". JudoInside.

External links edit