Maria Pekli
Australian judoka
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Maria Pekli (born 12 June 1972 in Baja, Hungary) is an Australian judoka of Hungarian descent. She was Australian Champion in the –57 kg division for seven consecutive years, between 1997 and 2003.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 12 June 1972 (age 53) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Judoka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Hungary, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Judo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight class | –57 kg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank | 5th dan black belt[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympic Games |  (2000) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Champ. | 5th (1993, 2003) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Regional finals |
 (1996) (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commonwealth Games |  (2002) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| IJF | 15909 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| JudoInside.com | 2710 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Updated on 1 June 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
She won a bronze medal in the lightweight (57 kg) division at the 2000 Summer Olympics,[2] the first Australian woman to win an official Olympic Judo medal (although Suzanne Williams won a medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics when Women's Judo was a demonstration sport).
Along with Cuba's Driulys González and Japan's Ryoko Tamura-Tani, Pekli became in 2008 the first female judoka to compete at five Olympics. The only other judokas to compete at five Olympics are Belgian Robert Van de Walle and Puerto Rican judoka-bobsledder Jorge Bonnet.
In 2011, Pekli was awarded Life Membership of Judo Australia for her contribution to the sport at the Australian National Judo Championships.
In 2015, Pekli was inducted into the International Judo Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Achievements
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 5th | Lightweight (57 kg) |
| 2003 | World Judo Championships | Osaka, Japan | 5th | Lightweight (57 kg) |
| 2002 | Commonwealth Games | Manchester, England | 1st | Lightweight (57 kg) |
| 2000 | Olympic Games | Sydney | 3rd | Lightweight (57 kg) |
| 1996 | European Judo Championships | The Hague, Netherlands | 2nd | Lightweight (56 kg) |
| 1995 | European Judo Championships | Birmingham, England | 7th | Lightweight (56 kg) |
| 1993 | World Judo Championships | Hamilton, Ontario, Canada | 5th | Lightweight (56 kg) |
