Rena Kanokogi

Rena "Rusty" Kanokogi was a Jewish-American judoka from Brooklyn, New York. Born on July 30, 1935 as Rena Glickman, Rena became the first woman to practice Judo in the men-only dojo of the Kodokan in Tokyo, Japan. She sponsored the first women's Judo competition and was the driving force behind the introduction of women's Judo in the Olympics. In 1988 Rusty Kanokogi was Coach of the first United States Olympic Women's Judo Team. In 2008 she was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, one of Japan's highest civilian honors. She died on November 21,2009.