Bernard Lepkofker (d. March 17, 2014) was a competitive judoka from Brooklyn, New York, in the United States. He was a two-time gold medalist at the Maccabiah Games in Israel, won a New York Judo gold medal, and twice won silver medals in the US national championships.

Early life

Lepkofker was raised in a Jewish orphanage, the Pride of Judea Children's Home, and was Jewish. He attended Thomas Jefferson High School, with an initial goal to attend

Dayton University The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

. Lepkofker earned a basketball scholarship for college, attending the

University of Rio Grande The University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College (originally Rio Grande College) is a private university and public community college merged into one institution in Rio Grande, Ohio. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commissio ...

in Ohio, but left after two years.

Judo career

Lepkofker joined the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

, and did basic training at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

. While in the Air Force he learned

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

while stationed in Japan, training at the Kodokan school. Lepkofker won two silver medals and three bronze medals in the US National Championships during the years 1968, 1974, 1975, 1978, and 1979. In the 1968 National Championships, he lost to future

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

bronze medalist Allan Coage. Lepkofker was the 1965 New York Judo Gold Medalist. Lepkofker was the champion of the 1965 Maccabiah Games in Israel, and a competitor in the 1969 Maccabiah Games. At the 1973 Maccabiah Games, he won a gold medal in the heavyweight competition. He also unsuccessfully attempted to make the US Olympic Team. Lepkofker stood 6'4 and weighed 240 lbs in his prime. He was also one half of the Judo Twins with his brother, Robert Lepkofker. He was a member of the

New York Athletic Club The New York Athletic Club is a private social club and athletic club in New York state. Founded in 1868, the club has approximately 8,600 members and two facilities: the City House, located at 180 Central Park South in Manhattan, and Traver ...

Personal life

Lepkofker was a

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

veteran. He and his brother opened up a judo school in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, the American Kodokan Judo School, and upon gaining popularity they appeared on ''

The Johnny Carson Show ''The Johnny Carson Show'' was a 1955–56 half-hour prime time television variety show starring Johnny Carson. While working as a staff writer on ''The Red Skelton Show'', local Los Angeles television comedian Carson filled in as host when Sk ...

''. Lepkofker died on March 17, 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lepkofker, Bernard American male judoka 2014 deaths Competitors at the 1965 Maccabiah Games Competitors at the 1969 Maccabiah Games Competitors at the 1973 Maccabiah Games Jewish American sportspeople Maccabiah Games medalists in judo Maccabiah Games gold medalists for the United States Sportspeople from Brooklyn University of Rio Grande alumni