Lake Country’s Keith Griechen (top of podium) claimed the gold medal at the Word Jiu-Jitsu Championships in Las Vegas late last month.
Griechen had a bye in the first round and then won his next three matches to win the championship in the super heavyweight division.
It was his second straight medal at the event after he won silver last year.
“I vowed to get the gold next time and I did,” said an elated Griechen, who runs the Lake Country Judo club. “This ranks as one of my best martial arts performances in my life.”
About 2,500 competitors from around the world took part in the event and Griechen says he had a lot of support to make his win a reality.
“Thanks to my wife Kim for her support, my family, my world’s training partner Scott Payer, my Lake Country judo crew, my RDC Jiu-Jitsu crew with coaches Sterling Redlack and Kyle Deleurme and Dave Rothwell for coaching Scott and I on the mats in Vegas,” he said.
