24 Jul 2012

Sport: Plenty to watch for Pacific judo coach

10:42 am on 24 July 2012

Judo coach Patrick Mahon admits his loyalties will be tested more than most at the London Olympics.

His official role in London is as the coach for Nauru's Sled Dowabobo but, having coached much of the Pacific contingent over the past few years at the Olympic Training Centre in Samoa, Mahon says he will have a foot in a number of camps.

He says changes to the qualifying process have helped the region boost its Olympic presence.

"Up until the International Judo Federation changed the qualification system all they could ever do was actually dream but not believe there was a reality to their dream of getting to the Olympic Games. Like a lot, most times, they would have to wait until they received an invitation card, and there's only 20 of those for the entire world, so yeah it is a great thing for them that they can actually dream and knowing that there's a possibility of their dream becoming a reality."