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APSU junior Brinna Lavelle wins judo bronze for Team USA in Brazil

(Posted: July 3, 2018; updated July 25, 2018)

UPDATE: APSU junior Brinna Lavelle earned a bronze medal in judo for Team USA on July 23 at the International University Sports Federation (FISU) America Games in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Paulina Lizabeth Martinez of Mexico won gold, and Judith Gonzalez Jaque of Chile won silver. They competed in the 52-kilogram weight class.

Here are photos from Brazil:

You need only a few minutes with Brinna Lavelle to know why she’s a world-class judo athlete representing Team USA and Austin Peay State University this month in Brazil. 

Her attitude might be more powerful than her hip throws.

Lavelle trains six days a week. She runs and lifts weights. She fights. And she travels on weekends to faraway cities like Chicago and Miami to train with Olympians and judo sensei.

But she’s also a full-time junior at Austin Peay, majoring in biology with a concentration in pre-veterinary medicine. 

“We’ll drive to Miami,” dad David Lavelle said. “She’ll train. We’ll drive back and get back here by 8 o’clock Monday morning, and by 9:30 she’s back in class. She works really hard.”

And that’s where Brinna’s attitude shines, and how it has lifted her to Team USA and to the International University Sports Federation (FISU) America Games in Sao Paulo.

“If I want something, I really have to work for it,” she said, her smile bolstering the truth in the statement.

Brinna’s attitude was on full display recently as she struggled through a zoology class. The professor was tough on her, she said. 

“But then I realized this is what life is about, I have to put in the work and push myself fully to get the grade that I want, so I worked really hard, and I pulled out an A.”

Brinna, 20, has been working hard at judo since she was 3, after her military dad settled the family in Clarksville. She started competing nationally and internationally when she was 12.

“My dad originally made me do judo when I was little to defend myself because he knew I’d be small,” she said. “And I didn’t want to do it, but I’ve come to love it ever since the first couple of classes.

“I’ve done it all my life. It’s all I’ve ever known. I love it.”

Brinna qualified for FISU America Games by finishing second in the 52-kilogram class in March at the National Collegiate Judo Association championships. Collegiate athletes from North and South America compete in the games, which are like the Pan American Games.

“I think I have good chances,” she said with a chuckle. “I’ve trained really hard.”

And the odds are good for her. She’s won gold at the Junior Olympics and at the U.S. Judo Association Nationals. She was ranked 19^th in the world before moving up in weight class. 

If Brinna does well in Brazil, she’ll think about trying for the Olympics in 2024. Before then she has to focus on being a student and getting a veterinarian degree.

“I’d have to make a decision whether to pursue my academic or my athletic (career),” she said.

Brinna travels the country to get high-level training. Her head coach, three-time Olympian Celita Schutz, lives in New Jersey. She also gets coaching from sensei Yoichiro Matsumura, Schutz’s longtime coach.

Locally her dad coaches her. He served in special operations at Fort Campbell before becoming a physician assistant for the 101^st Airborne Division. He retired after 20 years of service to be with his family, and they’ve lived in Clarksville since. He works at Fort Campbell’s Intrepid Spirit Center, which specializes in traumatic brain injuries.

Brinna isn’t far from her $5,000 gofundme.com goal to pay for the trip. You can help her by donating at . 

The games are July 20-29 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The judo competition is July 22-25. Other sports include basketball, soccer, swimming, tennis, volleyball and track and field. For more information, visit .