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Self defenseless

World champ Pedro fails to medal

American Jimmy Pedro, right, couldn't keep South Korea's Choi Yong-Sin under wraps, and eventually lost out on a medal. AP

SYDNEY, Australia (CNNSI.com) -- Favorite Jimmy Pedro wasn't feeling quite right and was shocked in his first match against South Korea's Choi Yong-sin, who never won a major title and whose most notable achievement was a third in the world juniors four years ago.

The American and world champion came away empty-handed from the 73-kilogram competition.

After losing, Pedro had to battle back through four rounds of repechages -- or second chances -- to earn the right to battle for the bronze against semifinal loser, Anatoly Laryukov of Belarus.

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Laryukov scored a late takedown to beat Pedro and take the bronze.

The first-round match against Choi that put Pedro out of contention for the gold did not go well. No scoring moves were executed and both were penalized for non-combativeness.

With 48 seconds left, Pedro was penalized for an illegal grip, giving Choi another scoring point. Pedro tried to counter in the final seconds but could not throw Choi.

Pedro said he didn't feel right from he start. "I don't know why. I just don't feel right," Pedro said after the match.

"Jimmy couldn't get started," American coach Steve Cohen said. "It just didn't happen. The last time he beat him by a full point."

Pedro had to win four consecutive bouts to have a chance to win a bronze. He even had to face 1996 gold medalist Kenzo Nakamura of Japan, like Pedro, another champion who lost before the final, losing to Choi.

Against Nakamura, both men were penalized for passivity. But Pedro threw Nakamura with 1:23 left to advance and he went into the final repechage against Michel Almedia of Portugal, which Pedro won.

However, Pedro lost his chance for the bronze medal.

Giuseppe Maddaloni of Italy won the men's event against Tiago Camilo of Brazil, exciting the crowd with a front flip after he scored the winning throw.

Choi, like Pedro, lost a chance for the bronze as Latvia's Vsevolods Zelonijs took the third-place bout.

In the women's 57 kg event, Isabel Fernandez of Spain won the gold, defeating Driulys Gonzalez of Cuba in the title match. Kie Kusakabe, Japan, and Maria Pekli, Australia, shared the bronze.

Fernandez won the 57 kg class at the 1997 world championships and took the silver last year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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