A State Open champion at Holy Cross in Waterbury as a junior in 1976, retired Lieutenant Colonel Gralyn Harris spent 23 years in the military, serving with the U.S. Army’s Military Intelligence Unit in southeast Asia and the Middle East, earning numerous decorations and badges.

Gralyn is a recipient of the Legion of Merit medal, an honor given for exceptional meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements.

A professional educator, he teaches Arabic and French along with speaking Spanish, Japanese and the Ethiopian language of Amharic.

He began coaching while in high school, teaching wrestling at the Waterbury YMCA.

He helped establish the judo club at the University of Connecticut in 1978, helped create and establish the Ganbaru Judo Yudanshakai (USJF) in California, an association for martial arts organizations.

He was selected to represent the United States in judo at the 1979 Pan-American Games.

He also served as vice president of the National Collegiate Judo Association. A U.S. senior national Master’s Judo champion in 1994, Harris was an instructor and coach for Yemen’s national judo team in 2003-04 and helped Yemen field its first Olympic judo team.

He is currently coaching wrestling at Evans High School in Evans, Georgia.

Profile photo taken June 2010