On December 30, 2020, we held a zoom meeting where Dr. Jean Kanokogi shared the recently completed memoir of her mother, Rena “Rusty” Kanokogi. It was a great event and we were very fortunate to be the first to host Jean in her labor of love. Jean shared a fascinating history of her mother through videos, photos and interviews and it was incredibly well received by all the participants.

Rusty was a larger than life personality and had an incredible and truly inspirational life story. In 1959, Rusty hid the fact that she was a woman and competed in a men's judo championship, winning the gold medal. When it was discovered that she was a woman, they forced her to return the medal even though she had won the competition. She then became an advocate for all of women's sports and was the driving force behind holding the first Women's World Judo Championships in Madison Square Garden in 1980, then getting women's judo into the Olympics in 1988.

You can see more about Rusty’s life and order the book here:https://www.rustykanokogi.com

Check out an interview with author, Dr. Jean Kanokogi and Betsy Brandner-Smith of the National Police Association here.