Take one look at Lynn Roethke and you can see that she is an athlete. She moves with the grace of a cat who could pounce at any moment. Thankfully, this world-renowned Judo athlete wouldn’t hurt an innocent bystander.

Having won a silver medal at the 1988 Olympics, the first year women competed in Judo in the Olympics, Lynn understands firsthand what it means to be victorious and how to handle defeat.

“They Olympics were an incredible experience,” she says. “Because Judo was considered a demonstration sport that year, only the top eight women in the world were asked to compete. There were no elimination rounds or finals, only the actual competition. It was such an honor to be involved that year and I consider it the highest achievement I've had so far.”

That's a lot, coming from the woman who has won some 450 awards in competitions all over the world. Lynn is a ten time US National Champion, Gold Medalist in two US Open Championships, five time Gold Medalist in the Olympic Festival, and silver and two time bronze medalist in the prestigious Fukuoka International Championships. She was selected by the US Olympic Committee as female athlete of the year in the sport of Judo in 1985 and again in 1987.


She has a passion for the sport and considers herself lucky to be one of the main pioneers for women in Judo.

“It was a fantastic time to be involved,” she says. “Seeing an American win the bronze medal in the Olympics was an incredible experience. Ronda Rousey’s victory is a victory for us all.”

When Ronda Rousey won the bronze medal in Judo for the US in Beijing, she was touted as the first woman to win a medal for the United States since Judo became an official Olympic sport in 1992. Ronda's response was that as far as she was concerned, Lynn was and always would be the first woman Olympic medalist in Judo.


When you consider Lynn’s phenomenal success at Judo it’s interesting to note that she didn't fight in a tournament until she was 12 years old.

“I was pinning boys my same age and winning, and yet there weren't tournaments for girls until that year,” she recalls. “It was hard to watch the boys come home with medals when I couldn’t get one myself. I knew that I was pretty good at Judo and I always thought that women would one day be able to be in tournaments. That only fed my desire to compete.”

Lynn credits her older brother with her start in Judo at the age of six.

“He was the biggest bully to me and I used to dream about being able to get him back,” she laughs. “I had a neighbor with a black belt in Karate. I used to watch him break through bricks and boards. My brother was a big tease and loved to pick on me. I was a little toughie and just wanted to get him back so my mom signed me up for Judo. I thought Judo was Karate but found out that instead of breaking bricks and boards, it was people flying through the air. I decided then and there that I wanted to be able to do that.”

Judo is hand-to-hand combat formed from Jujitsu, which was used by the Japanese to kill or maim the enemy in war. Judo is a practice used for defense with no kicking or punching involved.


“It's all about leverage and balance,” says Lynn. “It’s a game of 'Human Chess’ because it's not about size, it's about control. The rules are simple; pin an opponent for 25 seconds and win. Choke an opponent until they submit or pass out, or put them in an arm lock and either dislocate their arm or they submit."

Lynn teaches Judo to youth and adults today because she believes that it instills confidence in students and teaches patience by encouraging repetition until perfection. But it wasn’t always easy for Lynn. At 15 she quit the sport.

"I was a green belt at my first national championship and had been fighting girls my age and size and always won,” she recalls. “I didn't know what it felt like to lose. At my first national, I fought with a black belt. Her name was Linda. She laid me on my back and the match was over in three seconds. I ran off the mat crying and told my mom I quit. My coach John came running over and put his fingers an inch apart and yelled, 'Lynn, you were this close to beating her!'”

That’s when her mom Joyce, herself an athlete, said something that’s always stuck with her. “She said, ‘Lynn, sometimes you have to lose to win again.' I thought about that a lot and knew she was right so I got back in the game.”

It took Lynn five years to finally beat Linda.

“After every match I lost to her, my coach John would run out and put his two fingers together and yell, 'Lynn, you were this close!' And he meant it. The year I finally won, Linda's coach got in her face and told her she wasn't any good. She quit Judo and never came back.”

That lesson stuck with Lynn. “I believe you have to fight to win – not fight so that you don't lose. They're two totally different things.

“A winner is someone who can lose and return to fight and win or lose another day. A good coach helps you to keep that perspective because at times all athletes lose.”


Lynn believes that there are many valuable lessons to be gained from competition: win or lose.

“We have to let our kids lose and feel the loss that comes from losing,” she says. “I really do believe that when you lose and learn, you're the better for it. I've been teaching since 1992. I've taught kids as young as me when I started. One of my students, Grant Johnson, has been with me for 10 years and just took third in nationals this year. That's great, but ultimately I don't care about the medals or the results for the kids. I care about the attitude and how Judo can help shape my students, mentally and physically. And I tell all of them, sometimes you have to lose to win.”