LONDON: He might have been the heaviest man at the Olympic Games, but the imposing figure of Ricardo Blas failed to make a big impression in the men’s heavyweight judo competition.
Blas, 25, from Guam, weighing in at 218 kg or almost 35 stone, raised cheers at London’s ExCel Center when he knocked out Facinet Keita from Guinea in the first round.
However, despite the challenge for his opponents of getting to grips with his huge frame, he did not last long in his next fight against Cuba’s Oscar Brayson yesterday.
“I have heard about that,” he said on being asked about being the heaviest athlete in London. “I have never had a problem with my body weight. My stamina is good.”
Known as “The Little Mountain” on Guam, a small Pacific island in Micronesia, Blas also competed in Beijing in 2008 and said he hoped to be back again in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
“I have not yet made my final decision to continue or not,” he said.
