The Tribune

By BRENT STUBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubb@tribunemedia.net

Long-time training partners Cynthia Rahming and Andrew Munnings are hoping to make an impression on the International Judo Federation in their bid to secure a spot at the 2020 Olympic Games.

The duo are slated to leave town on Thursday to represent the Bahamas at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, June 6-13, where they will be among a list of 712 judokas from 133 nations where the final selection of participants will be decided for the games in Tokyo, Japan next month.

The Olympics, postponed from last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, will take place July 23 to August 8.

Rahming and Mullings are hoping to become the first Bahamians to compete on the world’s biggest stage when the judo competition takes place July 24-31.

Bahamas Judo Federation president Darcy Rahming Sr said his daughter and Mullings, the son of Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture’s Director of Sports, Timothy Munnings, are as prepared as they can be to compete in the championships.

“As you know, World Championships are always tough,” Rahming Sr pointed out. “Cynthia can rise to the occasion and she has risen to the occasion more than once.

“We haven’t won at the World Championships, but we’ve scored there and won matches before. She is a very seasoned judoka and so we expect that she will hold her own along with Andrew, who has been there before.”

Rahming will be participating in the under-57 kilograms and Mullings will compete in the under-73 kilograms.

The only problem Rahming Sr said the two judokas had to endure is not having the use of their training centre because of its closure as a result of the measures implemented by the Competent Authority due to COVID-19.

To compensate for her loss, Rahming said she took advantage of the training offered by coach Demaris Cash and some of the elite track and field athletes like Stephen ‘Dirty’ Newbold.

“I decided to step it up and train with the track team,” Rahming said. “I’ve been doing that for about two months now and it’s been a tremendous help for me. I have really progressed.”

Going into the championships, Rahming said she’s confident that she will get the job done and earn her berth at the Olympics, despite the fact that she and Mullings have had to train in their judo style in a private setting.

“For me, as an athlete, I knew I was always a dynamic competitor. But I found out in the Olympic series where they interviewed different athletes, who were more dynamic because they worked out with some athletes other than those that compete in their sport.

“So that’s why I worked out with the elite athletes and they have given me the confidence and the extra push that I needed to get over the hump at the championships.”

Now in a better frame of mind for the competition, Rahming said if she can go to Budapest and win at least 2-3 matches, she should be able to book her ticket to Tokyo.

“Me and Andrew have been doing a lot of gym and strengthening work,” Rahming revealed. “We have also been doing a lot of studying of people we might have to go up against, so we both feel we’re ready for the competition.”

According to Rahming, they are both hopeful, but if only one of them makes it, it will be a big feather in the cap for the Bahamas.

The 27-year-old Rahming has competed in the World Championships quite a few times, but she had a great showing at the last in 2019 in Osaka, Japan.

She’s hoping that she will be successful again.

As for Munnings, he’s had to work through a broken right foot two months ago, but he’s prepared for the “do or die” situation that he and Rahming find themselves in.

“For the whole pandemic, I’ve only been training trying to get it and stay fit,” Munnings said.

“It has definitely helped me because I didn’t lose any progress. “I’m now prepared mentally to be in the right mind zone for whatever comes my way when I go there to compete.”

Munnings, 23, last competed at the World Championships in 2017 and he’s eager to go back to Budapest to see how well he can perform in his last hurrah for the Olympics.

“While my foot was in a cast, I got to work on all of the other parts of my body that weren’t affected,” Munnings said. “I was able to stretch certain parts of my foot and after the cast came off six weeks later, I was able to put more strength on it. Two weeks later, I was able to put more weight on it.”

Having been a part of judo for more than 10 years, Munnings said he got a chance to train with Rahming for quite a while and they have travelled to compete in a number of international competitions.

“To be with someone who you have grown up with is a blessing and I’m just happy that I would be doing this with her,” he said. “I think I would have to get between fourth and first place to qualify.

“I believe I have the ability to get to at least the fourth round. But with my situation, coming out of recovery, I will go there and do what I’ve done in training and let the results take care of itself.”

Going into the championships, Munnings said he’s feeling much stronger and he’s technically sound, just like Rahming, so everything is on the uphill for him.