Doug Rogers
Doug Rogers
Canadian Judo Legend
Doug Rogers was born on January 26, 1941 in
Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada. Throughout
his childhood, he was very athletic participating in hockey and eventually
Judo. At age 15, Doug joined the
Montreal Judo Club at the YMCA and then went on to train with Fred Okimura at
the Montreal Seidokwan dojo. All through
high school he continued training and studying Judo. In 1958 he earned his brown belt title and
then the following year he earned his black belt title. In 1960, Doug applied to the Kodokan, was
accepted and headed for Japan.
There his training was informal, training in the main dojo and some foreign ones. The quality of practice depended mostly on who was there. The best Judo of the time was coming out of the Police Academy and the University. These groups would come to the Kodokan for weekly practice. Doug trained with the Judoka from the Policy Academy and Takudai University every week. Here he met Kimura who was Takushoku University’s Judo coach.
Competing regularly, Doug became a strong competitor. He won the attention of the Canadian Olympic Committee who were looking for strong medal contenders to compete in the upcoming Olympics. They were pleased with the idea they had a hopeful located in Japan. Doug returned to Canada and competed in the Nationals and on to the Olympics. In 1964, After some hard fought matches and keeping Canada on the edge of their seats, Doug Rogers became became Canada’s 1st Judoka to win the silver medal in Judo at the Olympics- the first year in which Judo was included. After the Olympics, Doug trained full time with Kimura and became very close to him. As a member of the Takushoku University Judo team, he joined the All Japan Univeristy Championships. He was the first non- Asian foreigner to take part in this event and was also named the best fighter in the tournament.
At 24yrs old Doug returned to Canada to pursue
his life long desire to be a professional pilot. He continued to compete and eventually went
on to win gold at two Pan American Games, then he placed 4th at the
1972 Olympics.
Doug Rogers achieved his life long goal of becoming an Professional Airline Pilot and enjoyed a full career. He eventually married and raised 4 children. His passion for the sport still exists today as Doug still frequents Judo Tournaments as an invited guest and coach.
