Travis Stevens wins silver for U.S. judo team

Travis Stevens very almost brought home the first ever gold medal for the American men in judo on Tuesday but came up just short in his final match against Russian Khasan Khalmaurzaev and will leave Rio with a silver medal instead.

American judoka Travis Stevens narrowly missed making history Tuesday, taking home the silver medal.

The last American male to win a medal in judo was Jimmy Pedro, the current USA Judo coach, who did it at the 2004 Games.

Stevens finished fifth at the London Games and was determined not to leave Rio empty-handed. Let’s hope that his impressive run through the tournament finishes off with another win for the United States. He is a three-time national champion and a two-time Pan American champion.

Ending his campaign with a bang, the Russian won his final two matches by ippon – judo’s equivalent of a knockout – over Sergiu Toma of the United Arab Emirates in the semi-final and then Stevens. Stevens progressed to the elimination round of 16, defeating Uzbekistan’s Shakhzodbek Sabirov 101s1 to 0s2, and he beat Bulgaria’s Ivanov Ivaylo 100 to 0s1 to advance to the semifinals.

Khalmurzaev’s medal is 11th one won by the Russian Federation national team at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.