Maria Pekli (born 12 June 1972 in Baja, Hungary) is an Australian judoka of Hungarian descent. She was Australian Champion in the ‍–‍57 kg division for seven consecutive years, between 1997 and 2003.

Maria Pekli
Personal information
Born12 June 1972 (1972-06-12) (age 52)
Baja, Hungary
OccupationJudoka
Sport
CountryHungary, Australia
SportJudo
Weight class–57 kg
Rank     5th dan black belt[1]
Achievements and titles
Olympic GamesBronze (2000)
World Champ.5th (1993, 2003)
Regional finals Silver (1996)
Gold (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008)
Commonwealth GamesGold (2002)
Medal record
Women's judo
Representing  Australia
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2000 Sydney ‍–‍57 kg
Oceania Championships
Gold medal – first place 2000 Sydney ‍–‍57 kg
Gold medal – first place 2002 Wellington ‍–‍57 kg
Gold medal – first place 2003 Suva ‍–‍57 kg
Gold medal – first place 2004 Nouméa ‍–‍57 kg
Gold medal – first place 2008 Christchurch ‍–‍57 kg
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2002 Manchester ‍–‍57 kg
Representing  Hungary
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 1996 The Hague ‍–‍56 kg
European Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place 1989 Athens ‍–‍52 kg
Profile at external databases
IJF15909
JudoInside.com2710
Updated on 1 June 2023

She won a bronze medal in the lightweight (57 kg) division at the 2000 Summer Olympics,[2] the first Australian woman to win an official Olympic Judo medal (although Suzanne Williams won a medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics when Women's Judo was a demonstration sport).

Along with Cuba's Driulys González and Japan's Ryoko Tamura-Tani, Pekli became in 2008 the first female judoka to compete at five Olympics. The only other judokas to compete at five Olympics are Belgian Robert Van de Walle and Puerto Rican judoka-bobsledder Jorge Bonnet.

In 2011, Pekli was awarded Life Membership of Judo Australia for her contribution to the sport at the Australian National Judo Championships.

Achievements

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Year Competition Venue Position Notes
2008 Olympic Games Beijing, China 5th Lightweight (57 kg)
2003 World Judo Championships Osaka, Japan 5th Lightweight (57 kg)
2002 Commonwealth Games Manchester, England 1st Lightweight (57 kg)
2000 Olympic Games Sydney 3rd Lightweight (57 kg)
1996 European Judo Championships The Hague, Netherlands 2nd Lightweight (56 kg)
1995 European Judo Championships Birmingham, England 7th Lightweight (56 kg)
1993 World Judo Championships Hamilton, Ontario, Canada 5th Lightweight (56 kg)

References

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  1. ^ "IJF Dan Grades Awardees" (PDF). International Judo Federation. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  2. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Maria Pekli". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016.
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