LONDON?- Amsterdam resident Nick Delpopolo, a 2007 Burnt Hills-Ballston?Lake High School graduate, placed seventh in the 73-kilogram division Monday at the 2012 Summer Olypics.
Delpopolo, 23, who trains at the Jason Morris Judo Center in Glenville was making his first Olympic appearance.
Delpopolo had a first round bye then looked sharp throwing Chi Yip Cheung (Hong Kong) for ippon (full point) in his second-round match.
Article Photos
Amsterdam resident Nick Delpopolo, left, and Nyam Ochir Sainjargal of Mongolia compete during the men’s 73-kilogram judo competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics on Monday in London. (The Associated Press)
In the round of 16, Delpopolo squared off against No. 8 seed Dirk Van Tichlet (Belgium). Delpopolo scored a yuko (partial point) early in the bout on his way to the victory. Van Tichlet won their only other previous meeting at the 2010 Miami World Cup.
The win set up a bout with No. 1 seed Kin Chun Wang (Korea), who is ranked first in the world.
Wang had defeated Delpopolo in their three prior matches, which all were close.
This time was no different as it turned out to be an eight-minute thriller that ended with no score and came down to a referee's decision with all three judges voting for Wang.
Delpopolo then lost by the slimmest of margins to eventual bronze medalist, Nyam Ochir Sainjargal (Mongolia) by a 2-1 margin of shidos (penalties).
The Jason Morris Judo Center had one Olympian, Travis Stevens, in Beijing in 2008 along with JMJC owner/operator, Jason Morris serving as the head coach.
The club now has two Olympians, Delpopolo and Kyle Vashkulat, in London.
Stevens made it again as well, although he has moved on from the JMJC.
"I am both pleased and proud of Nick as he performed at the highest level today," Morris said in a news release. "The difference between Gold and seventh is so small and Nick put himself in a position today to challenge for an Olympic medal, which is amazing."
Delpopolo's performance cames on the 20th anniversary of Morris winning a silver medal July 30, 1992 at the Barcelona Olympics.
Delpopolo along with fellow Burnt Hills graduate Kyle Vashkulat have both been training at the JMJC for nearly 10 years.
Vashkulat competes on Thursday in the 100-kilgram division and faces fourth-seeded Ramziddin Sayidov (Uzbekistan) in his first contest.