Lynn Joyce Roethke (born June 22, 1961) is an American female judoka competitor. Among her most notable accomplishments, Lynn is a two-time Olympic athlete, a Pan American gold medalist, and World Champion Silver medalist. She was the first female to be inducted to the Black Belt Hall of Fame and voted as Olympic Athlete of the Year. She competed in the −61 kg division for most of her competitive career (early 1980s – late 1990s).

Olympics

Roethke is a two-time US Olympic competitor for

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 ...

. Lynn competed in the

1988 Summer Olympic Games The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

in Seoul, Korea where she would win the silver medal in the -61 kg (134 lbs) division. This would make her the first American woman to compete in the finals (the gold was won by Diane Bell of GBR). During these Olympics, women's judo was a

demonstration sport A demonstration sport, or exhibition sport, is a sport which is played to promote it, rather than as part of standard medal competition. This occurs commonly during the Olympic Games, but may also occur at other sporting events. Demonstration spor ...

, therefore did not count towards the USA's total medal count. Lynn was also a member of the Olympic team at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

in Barcelona, Spain. Lynn is also a Pan American Games Champion in Sambo.

World Championships

Ms. Roethke won the silver medal in the

1987 World Judo Championships The 1987 World Judo Championships were the 15th edition of the World Judo Championships, and were held in Essen, West Germany from November 19–22, 1987. Medal overview Men Women Medal table References External linksResults of the World ...

in Essen, West Germany. She was defeated by Diane Bell of GBR in the −61 kg division.

Pan American Games

Roethke won the gold medal in the

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas c ...

in Indianapolis. She defeated Natasha Hernandez in the −61 kg division. Ms. Roethke won the silver medal in the

1991 Pan American Games The 1991 Pan American Games were held in Havana, Cuba from August 2 to August 18, 1991. There were 4,519 athletes from 39 countries of the Pan American Sports Organization, PASO community, with events in 33 different sports. The main stadium was ...

in Havana, Cuba. She was defeated by Illeana Beltran in the −61 kg division.

US National Championships

Roethke won the gold medal during 9 US National Championships. * 1984 Orlando, FL – defeated Kathy Dalton * 1985 Farmington Hills, MI – defeated Kathy Dalton * 1986 Honolulu, HI – defeated Tammy Otaka * 1987 Pittsburgh, PA – defeated Kathy Dalton * 1989 Tampa, FL – defeated Liliko Ogasawara * 1990 San Diego, CA – defeated Brenda Day * 1991 Honolulu, HI – defeated Brenda Day * 1993 Indianapolis, IN – defeated Idiko Szasz * 1994 Irvine, CA – defeated Hannelore Brown in the −56 kg division Bronze Medal * 1983 Los Angeles, CA – defeated by Robin Chapman (Judo) for gold, Cindy Sovljanski for silver. * 1995 Indianapolis, IN – defeated by Corrina Broz for gold, Marissa Pedulla for silver in the −56 kg division * 2004 Villa Park, IL – defeated by Valerie Gotay for gold, Colleen McDonald for silver in the −56 kg division

Present

Lynn currently owns and operates Club Olympia in

Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Fond du Lac () is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 44,678 at the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the United States Census Bureau's Fond du Lac United States metrop ...

, where she is a certified trainer and runs her own dojo, Club Olympia Judo. She is an eighth degree black belt.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roethke, Lynn 1961 births Living people American female judoka Judoka at the 1988 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic judoka of the United States Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in judo Sambokas at the 1983 Pan American Games Judoka at the 1987 Pan American Games Judoka at the 1991 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games 20th-century American women