By JESSE HALEY Special to the Daily Press
After first place finishes at all five state Judo tournaments this year, Santa Monica High School first-year student Alex Dark-hov-sky is prepared to make his presence felt at the national level.
At the California State Games on May 25 in San Diego, the soft-spoken fourteen year old beat all three opponents by ippon (pronounced ee-pone), Judo’s equivalent to a knock-out.
Regular matches are four minutes long, but Darkhovsky won each of his in less than two minutes — one by choke, two by throws. Because he is well-known for his quick victories, at the forty second mark of his second match team parents and spectators heckled Alex for taking so long.
The winning throw came soon after that as Darkhovsky beat Wesley Yoshimura, bronze medal winner at last year’s high school nationals.
Currently, Alex and his younger brother Lev have their sights set on gold at the United States Judo Federation Youth and Team National Judo Championships on June 4-7 in Sacramento.
However, the calm confidence Alex Darkhovsky exudes is rare in athletes his age. Rooting through his gym bag before a recent practice, he commented of his most recent victory, “Yeah, I expected to win [the California State Games] — a small tournament like that.”
Besides boasting an undefeated record, the quiet teen maintains a 4.0 Grade Point Average at Samohi, where he says he’s more drawn to science and math than English or social studies. He’s also branching out, trying his hand at Greco Roman wrestling this year.
Darkhovsky’s weekly work outs include three days of practice with the YMCAJudo Team, five days of practice with the Samohi wrestling team, and running one or two days.
At his first state tournaments, Darkhovsky surprised his competition with a rare natural ability and understanding of the sport.
At Speed Harada Memorial tournament, on April 28 in Norwalk, he won the 14-15 year division, then challenged up and took first place in the 15-16 year junior brown belt division.
“They know me now, because I beat them,” purple belt Darkhovsky said of his elder, brown-belt competitors.
Darkhovsky’s talent is impressive, but the expert training he’s received under his coach, Sensei Jim Nieto is not to be overlooked.
In eighteen of his twenty years in competition, one or more of Nieto’s students have won gold medals at the national level.
Nieto requires at least a B average from all members of his team and he chooses not to principally reward wins and physical achievement. Instead, students advance belt rankings more slowly by meeting different requirements.
“Most important are responsibility, maturity, and teaching ability,” Nieto said.
The Darkhovsky’s moved their family to Santa Monica in 1993 from their native Ukraine. Alex’s mother and father — a legal clerk and software engineer, respectively — encouraged their two sons to pursue athletics, Judo in particular.
Alex began studying five years ago, and has since won three consecutive State Championships. This year, he and younger brother Lev, 12, each entered five tournaments and have ten gold medals between them.
Already, Alex holds titles in the California State Championship, West Covina Tournament, Speed Harada Memorial, Sawtelle Dojo Invitational, Silver State Championship in Las Vegas, and the California State Games.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 1, 2002. Read the original PDF.