LITTLETON, Colo. —
A judo dojo in Colorado run by a former U.S. Olympian is at risk of closing its doors due to changes in her rent.
Grace Truesdale opened the nonprofit Gracie Judo in 2009. Since then, Truesdale has coached thousands of kids who want to learn the martial art she’s passionate about.
Truesdale started judo when she was three years old and said she fell in love with it. She was invited to train at the Olympic Training Center in 1980, when women still weren’t allowed to compete. But she kept fighting.
“I was the first woman to make history and be on that team officially in the 1992 Olympics,” Truesdale said.
Her skills as a judoka opened up many opportunities for her, including being nominated to carry the Olympic Torch. The greatest torch she could pass to her students, though, isn’t physical.
“I hope that they do follow my footsteps and keep this tradition of this Olympic sport,” Truesdale said. “We have to keep it alive.”
But after keeping it alive for more than a decade through Gracie Judo, changes in her rent situation are putting the dojo at risk of closing down. Trusedale said a new lease is unaffordable, and if she continues paying the current price on a month-to-month basis, she could get a notice at any time saying she has to leave in 30 days.
Former Olympian teaches judo to kids in Colorado
“First, I feel like I was punched to the stomach and then second, it's like the hard work that comes to an end,” Truesdale said. “They have a new owner who came in and it's almost triple. That will kick in after March 31, real soon. What that means is that we probably won't be able to continue.”
She said she doesn’t know what she would do without Gracie Judo — and neither do her students.
“I grew up here, so it's like really special to me,” said Evelyn Kennedy, a purple belt.
Truesdale said Kennedy is ranked nationally and is going for the 2028 Olympics.
“I come here like four or five times a week,” Kennedy said. “I have been coming here for like nine years and I would just feel empty and I wouldn't feel like my day is complete.”
With this impending rent change, the nonprofit is looking for a new place. Truesdale’s history proves when she gets knocked down, she comes back, the only way she knows how.
“We would love a place where we can just have our mats down and keep going and go for gold for 2028,” Truesdale said.
If you know of a space for Gracie Judo to put their mats down, contact 92judo@gmail.com.
> Video below: Former Olympian gives a judo throw step-by-step
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